Black Feathers
by PhantomHeiress
Summary: "To find a dark feather is an omen that the guardian of your soul is near you. Your safekeeper, your angel. And, above all, the one that can bring you the most suffering." Loki might not be able to keep his hair slicked back and perfect. Because what goes around comes around, and Karma can be a nightmare. So can the girl who controls it. Loki/OC.
1. Prologue

_"To serve Karma, one must repay good Karma to others. To serve Karma well, one must deliver bad Karma where it is due." _

Prologue

Change was happening. The idea of change is something that has always been considered undesirable, ever since the Dark Ages. The thought of shifting one's comfort for the adaptation of a new experience doesn't quite sit well on the stomach. The more it shifts around in one's head, the more it burns holes into your conscience.

There was change in the air. Heimdall, of all people, could feel it. He had a more personal connection with the universe, a kind of relationship that almost allowed him to reach out and skim the surfaces of worlds with his fingertips. But as much as he had skimmed, something different was swirling around him in the atmosphere. It ripped at his nerves and frayed around his logic. He adjusted his grip of the massive sword and coped with this new sensation. Gazing out into the cosmos, he decided, ought to help.

As much as he clenched his jawline and focused on the stars, the swirling changes wouldn't go away.

On top of that, the Bifrost suddenly had the random urge to go and start itself up.

The nerve of some things.

The massive portal rod began to spin quickly, gaining speed and catching huge crackles of free energy that bounced along the inner walls of the Bifrost. Heimdall took a step back, watching with inquisitive golden eyes. The air began to swirl dramatically as the Bifrost braced itself to let someone- or something- through the gates to Asgard. And braced with it was Heimdall, standing ready to encounter whatever was coming through. He clenched his teeth together when the energy level intensified.

Then a blue beam of starch light rocketed down onto one of the several spaces of transportation. In one final glorious strain, the Bifrost (having delivered its parcel) slowed down until it curved back to its normal position. All was calm.

Heimdall stayed tense, his lips pressed together, as he looked at what was left behind. A small child, a little girl, clenching her legs up to her chest and darting her eyes around the inner workings of the Bifrost. Heimdall sighed and dropped the sword from his shoulder to rest the tip on one of the large steps.

She was adorable.

And, after taking a trip through space, Heimdall expected her to be more afraid. But she wasn't. The girl, who must have only been 6 years of age, had chin-length black hair and stunning greenish gray eyes. Such features perfectly set off her pale skin and almond shaped eyes, which stayed wide and curious.

"How did you manage to sneak through my Bifrost without my permission?" Heimdall almost asked the question sweetly, bending his tall frame over slightly to see her small one.

"They sent me here." She said, almost inaudibly. And with that, she stood up and brushed off her simple clothing. A pair of very balloon-like pants, simple and white; with an India-designed shirt that extended to her knees. She threw back a thin-sheen scarf that covered the majority of her neck. "I hate these clothes." She suddenly spoke out, sensing Heimdall as he examined her apparel. "I hate this color, white. I always have. But when I ask for black, they tell me no."

"Who has sent you here?" He tried again. "I did not open the Bifrost for you."

"They did." The girl pointed upwards with one small index finger. Her hands were painted ornately with flowery designs that stretched up to cover her forearm. The extensive leaves didn't look painted at all- but permanent. And the colors shifted with her skin. The ornate paintings were her skin. "So I know the way when I come back. When I'm older."

Heimdall watched her carefully as she walked slowly toward the exit and looked out at the Rainbow Bridge. Her fingers flexed. Her eyes skipped up to the Asgardian palace that sat proudly against the rich evening sky. She looked at the palace with all the childish wonder a girl like her would be expected to have. Almost as if something was clicking around inside her head.

"Are you Elven?" he asked. Keeping her attention seemed the best way to distract her from the things of Asgard. Whoever sent her must have had some sort of other motive. Either that or a fine passion for other planets, which didn't seem as likely.

"No." The statement came quickly, and she didn't even give Heimdall the decency of looking back up at him. "My name is KrishnaLan." She turned up to look at him all of a sudden. There was something glistening in her young eyes that Heimdall was all too familiar with, and it made his hands clench up. He'd seen it before in a young boy about her age. If she was half as mischievous, things could get pressurized quickly.

"My job is to make people suffer for bad things they do." She cocked her head to one side. "Karma, they call it. I'm in charge of Karma."

"KrishnaLan: little Krishna." The Guardian repeated slowly, letting the word ease out of his mouth. He was becoming very uncomfortable with her presence as he began to realize her origin. "You come from the Hindu Gods. They have sent you here to Asgard." KrishnaLan stayed still as she watched the moving colors in the Bridge. A dark figure was approaching from a distance off. A few strands of her thin black hair fluttered in front of her face, riding effortlessly on a breeze.

"Have you ever seen the insides of a person?" her voice was solemn and suddenly very dark. She seemed to stop and consider each word that she said, as if angling them to specifically crawl up The Guardian's spine. Heimdall inserted the sword into its position to prepare the Bifrost for the girl's leave. It was time for her to go back to where she came from. Such a small child was earning him a great deal of chills. She flipped around to look at him. "I have. I've seen the insides of a person. Because I was the one that got to turn the person inside out." She ran one finger over the elaborate henna details of her skin.

"You are leaving now." Heimdall instructed. The girl walked back over to the spot she arrived without any further coaxing.

"That's fine. I already know how to get here." KrishnaLan, small and filled with a glowering shimmer, sat back down on the panel; her ankle bracelets chiming along with the action. "I'll come back." For a final time, KrishnaLan glanced up into Heimdall's gaze and a crooked smile crawled its way over both of her cheeks. Her eyes narrowed.

"I am sending you back to where you originated." Heimdall started up the Bifrost. He was finished with these trivial conversations.

"No. Send me to earth." KrishnaLan's eyes went to the top of the Bifrost, as she examined the inner workings of it. She tucked a piece of shiny hair behind her ear. "I need to learn more about Laufeyson from there."

"Laufeyson?" Heimdall asked. "The son of the Frost Giant?"

"One day you'll get it."

"Then to Midgard you shall go." And in a flash of cracking blue light that filled the Bifrost with the glory of it, the girl was taken away. Such a short conversation between them, a simple exchange of words, but Heimdall could almost feel the small girl's laughter whirring in his head like the sounds of her ankle trinkets.

"Heimdall?" The Guardian was sick of small children's voices by now, but he turned around to face his dark countenance toward young Loki. He slid into the Bifrost and glanced up at the slowly whirring pieces as they grinded to a halt. Loki scrambled up a few of the steps, his dark hair shimmering in the golden light. "Who was it that just came through the Bifrost?"

"I need not tell you."

"And what is that supposed to mean?" Loki sneered up at him, his adolescent nose wrinkling up.

"I fear that she lies in your future."

"So it was a girl, then?" Loki hummed gently, getting slowly antagonized by Heimdall's cool demeanor. "You are afraid of a girl?" To which Loki chucked darkly. "Even I am not afraid of girls."

"It is not the child I fear." Heimdall turned his head up, ever so slightly, to look into the sky through the tip of the Bifrost. "Rather the force she holds in her hands, and the way she is sent to use it."

Loki crossed his eyes in mockery. "Well, while all of this is thoroughly entertaining…" He hopped down the stairs and started toward the rainbow bridge. "There's a jousting competition being held in the square, and I want to see people bleed. Have you ever seen the insides of a person before?" Heimdall's jaw tensed. Young Loki smirked and continued walking away, trivially picking up a black feather that rested on the Bridge and flicking his fingers through it. "I want to."


	2. Enter the Mischief

_***dramatic voice here* AUTHOR'S NOTE!: ***much less dramatic voice* Since I didn't do a note for the prologue, I thought I ought to do one now. A huge thank you to all those who reviewed, favorited, followed! I'm thrilled about this fiction. I've been buffing up the ideas for a while._

_And, yes indeed. I did update twice today. I like to do things like that. _

_I would give a disclaimer, but I'm pretty sure this whole website is one big disclaimer. (Saying as it's fanfiction and not I'M STEALING ALL THESE CHARACTERS FOR MY OWN) (Even though, pahshaw. I wish. xD)_

_So, please, read on! And don't be afraid to give that little review button a poke. It doesn't bite. _

_Well, it bites on Tuesdays. But you should be safe. _

_**xXxXx**  
_

Loki, after a moment of deliberate concentration, decided he could sum up his exact feelings in two words:_ Feasts_. _Sucked_. Because, honestly, he didn't even know why he was there. Probably for some sort of minor victory on the far reaches of Asgard. It seemed like the court would celebrate for anything small and trivial just in the name of a feast. So they could gorge to their heart's content and talk about battle.

All Loki knew was he was sitting in his chambers by himself, about to relax into a bout of writing, and then _BAM_. He was being dragged down the hallway by his oaf of a brother Thor, who wreaked of stupidity and ale.

What seemed like three seconds later, Loki had been forcefully seated down at the table with a sickening amount of food inches away from his face. It doesn't matter who you are; no one should be able to eat that much and survive.

And how Loki _prayed_ everyone dropped dead after feasting.

But, much to Loki's discontent, the entire court was very much alive. Since he wasn't eating much himself, Loki decided to settle in and observe everyone. Not a single person took a break from eating. And when they did take a break from eating, they were drinking instead. Something was constantly being shoveled into their mouths, and yet the entire hall rang with their cries of laughter and shouts of acclamation.

How the hell did _that_ work?

Loki shoved his plate away from him with the tip of his index finger. Then he wiped that finger on the tablecloth and set his hands in his lap. Perhaps if he focused hard on the pattern he could tune out the raging voices around-

"I didn't see you in battle today, Loki!"

"That's because I wasn't there, Fandral." Loki gave his best attempt at a smile, which only came off as pained. "Funny, isn't it? How those things work." And the second Loki said anything, it seemed as if the entire place went silent to watch him.

So the only time Loki could get peace was when he was involving himself.

Irony also sucked.

"You must join us in our battles more often! Ne'er once have I considered you a valiant fighter, but I suppose anything could help…" Volstagg's massive voice trailed off and became lost in his next bite of meat. If it could even be considered a 'bite.' More like a shovel-full. Loki was hypnotized in disgust at this show of gluttony. Until, of course, another voice pried him out of the daze.

"Loki would be of no assistance to us." The Lady Sif didn't quite _sneer_ the phrase, but it was definitely close. "He would much rather stay by himself in his chambers. Say, Loki. What is it you do up there all the time, anyway? Mull over your general hatred of all living things?" To which the hall burst into laughter. "Or maybe even play card games against yourself? I suppose neither you or yourself would win."

Loki waited for a gap in the laughter to justify himself. "Intellectual pursuits are far superior to war." He replied slickly. The ice in his voice staved off the last remaining laughs. "It takes a brawn to battle, but cunning to deceive your enemy into your victory."

"A very Loki-ish thing to say." Fandral mumbled, now disinterested in the conversation and more interested in poking around his soup.

"Trickery does not amount to victory," Sif said.

"I think it comes close."

"Of course you do." Sif held Loki's gaze for a few moments longer before Volstagg broke the silence.

"I say we put all these matters to bed." The vibrations of his voice could be felt through the table. Particularly by Loki, who was gripping the edges with white-knuckled fists. "We should have a duel between Thor Odinson and Loki Odinson! All those in agreeance?" A chorus of 'ayes' rose up from the table.

Loki exclaimed. "Don't I get any say in the matter? Why must you always stake these battles between my brother and I?"

"And that is just like him." Sif turned to Fandral with merriment gleaming in her eyes. "To back out with fear in his eyes, charming us with words to make us feel the lesser." Why was it that Sif's laughter was what made something angry well up inside Loki's chest? Because it was. Something very angry.

"I never said I was backing out." Loki grumbled darkly. He couldn't even believe for half a moment that he was actually agreeing to the duel.

"Then it's set!" Thor's voice beamed above the others. He slapped Loki happily on the back and rose his goblet into the air. "We'll battle this evening, before the setting of the light!" And a row of goblets were risen into the air to agree to the matter. Then it was immediately back to eating, drinking, and laughing.

Loki slammed his head against the table, making his short, slicked back black hair shake slightly at the ends. Feasts sucked.

Irony sucked pretty badly, too.

**xXxXx**

Heimdall was just having another one of those days.

The Bifrost could be temperamental, yes, but usually in much smaller degrees. A click here, a whir there, but now it was starting itself up again. And Heimdall, who was very unused to this idea of someone else taking control of the Bifrost, was becoming increasingly more aggravated. He stood still and waited for the creation to slow.

Not before sending down a beautiful shimmer of light. Light that cascaded through the space and left in its wake, a person. The light separated, the mechanisms slowed, and the person adjusted the bag strapped across their shoulder.

She looked up at Heimdall with shimmery green-gray eyes.

"I'm taller now." A smile snuck across her face softly. But she remained stiff and rigid. Heimdall turned his head to one side ever so slightly, remembering back the many years previous when he had first encountered this girl. KrishnaLan. She was wearing black now. Since she had an obvious distaste for white. Her hair was still jet dark, but now extended to her collarbone, and it framed her more mature (yet still just as pale and fragile) face.

Heimdall took very little note of this. What he took note of the most was the dark, charcoal residue that seemed to subsist around her eyes. She cocked her head to one side quickly.

"Anything else to say? No? Aight, then, I'm gonna be on my way." KrishnaLan proceeded walking toward the exit of the Bifrost, pulling her hair back and clipping it into place with a shiny plastic hairclip. Heimdall stepped in front of her.

"I cannot allow you to enter Asgard." His stern voice obviously set something off in Krishna, and she placed her hands in her pant pockets.

"Right, sorry. Traveled all this way and I must have forgotten that the gatekeeper would be pissed off with me." She swung back and forth. "Hey! What's that?" Krishna screamed and pointed over at the other side of the Bifrost, but Heimdall kept his gold gaze fixated on her. She sighed awkwardly and adjusted her hairclip. "Alright, so that didn't work…"

"Leave." Was all Heimdall instructed.

Krishna knew he wanted her to go the other way, but there wasn't a chance in hell she was going back to earth.

Taxicabs and humans? _No, thank you._

Krishna saluted him. "Will do." And with that, she ducked under his arm and sprinted. She laughed hysterically, running across the beautiful colors and toward the palace. Heimdall wasn't very good company.

And she was hellbent on someone else.


	3. Feeding Stray Animals

_**Author's Note: **The feedback that I've gotten has been fantastic! I hope you guys are enjoying the story, and I'm really excited for the plot to kick up. Poor little Loki, though. _

_And a huge thanks to the readers that followed me through Dark Humor (which failed) and have been compassionate enough to follow me through this one as well. Thank you to all those who followed, reviewed, and favorited. It means the world. Not just the world, it also means all the other planets to me. _

_Read on! Read on, my compadres! And it still isn't Tuesday. _

_So you can click that review button without it biting. And if it is Tuesday, give it a compliment and it'll let you click it anyway. _

_Eat breakfast and stay awesome!_

_**NORMAL POV**_

Loki couldn't get the mocking laughter from ringing around his head. The slamming of his chamber door didn't block it out, soaking his wounds in hot water didn't help. He could feel the remnants of the duel deep to his core. Who was he to try and challenge Thor? Of course he was going to make a fool of himself! Up to this point, his knowledge of magic had been rudimentary at best; but Thor's frame always had a large build. What an idiot Loki was to think he would stand even a small chance!

And now what was he facing for it? Nursing his bruises and sliced skin, alternating between cold and hot waters- trying to ease the pain and heal the wounds at the same time. He was too drained of his magic to use it to repair his tendons. In the morning, maybe he would be back to normal, but for now he would have to grin and bear it.

The failure he could have handled. He was used to failure by now. But the laughter of the spectators only rubbed salt into every one of his injuries, and it seemed to echo around his massive chamber room. At that moment, with the mockery filling his chambers and smothering him in embarrassment, his room had never felt so completely empty. So he left it. He walked out onto the palatial stone balcony and rested on one of the towering pillars with his right hand. If anything, the night welcomed him in with open arms.

**xXxXx**

"Oh, whoa whoa whoa..." Krishna shrunk back behind one of the massive pillars in the darkness, dodging around a place where a pair of guards walked by. They were adorned in thick golden plates, and chatting together casually in the dead of night. Krishna slowly rotated around the pillar as the guards moved to the other side. She whispered gently to herself. "Okay... And we're off again..." She skipped around the corner and looked up the side of the huge palace. What seemed like hundreds of balconies were above her, most of them dark and empty as the owners had long retired.

But there weren't any windows or drapes. Just an open connection to the Asgardian world around them. Krishna never had a window like that, and she wanted one all of a sudden.

Krishna licked her thumb and used it to measure the distance of each balcony. "Eh. That one, that one seems the least... Exertionating." Krishna padded on efficiently through the darkness, still mumbling to herself. "Exertionating isn't even a word. Screw that. I just made it a word." She avoided a slab of stone. "No dictionary is going to tell me what to do..."

**xXxXx**

Loki leaned on his arms, resting leniently on the thick stone railing. His hair was usually mercilessly slicked back without a hair out of place, but now he had several strands in front of his face, gently drifting on the breeze.

He felt at peace, relaxed for the first time that night. Surely all others in the kingdom were feeling like that, deep at night. Relaxed. At peace.

**xXxXx**

"Oh, sweet mercy above." Krishna clenched her jaw and began hoisting herself up the first balcony. It was a lot damn higher than she thought it was. Slowly, silently, she pulled herself over the rail. "Oh, geez." Krish leaned back and caught her breath, scoping out the height of her next balcony encounter. "I am not in shape."

But she adjusted her long scarf and went to clamber up the slick stone.

"I deserve a medal of honor for this..."

**xXxXx**

The breeze picked up for only a second or two, but it was enough for Loki to catch something out of the corner of his eye. Something dark skimmed across the surface of the balcony's stone. Loki rubbed the side of his ear, humoring this whatever-it-was by going to pick it up.

It was a small black feather. Not unusual to find at all. Loki bent down and took the feather between his index and middle fingers, pulling it up to his eye level. He examined the many different shoots that went from the center, noticing how thin and wispy they were around the edges, and how the ends seemed to float by themselves in the dull Asgardian air. He turned it around and looked at the back.

**xXxXx**

"I'm okay." Krishna took a deep breath, avoiding the cough that she wanted to give into. "Maybe not. I think one of my lungs is gone." She took the moment to feel her ribs. "No, no I still have two lungs."

She squinted up at the next balcony, and nearly gasped when she saw the slender figure standing in the light of the room behind him. He was holding something up to the light, examining its details.

_Oh, crap_. Krishna thought, lurking behind another pillar. _He didn't hear me, did he? I guess I could kill him. That wouldn't be too bad._ She then took the next few moments calculating how she could use everything around her as a weapon in case the guy went psychopath on her. With a little bit of self-encouragement, she was climbing the final balcony up toward her goal.

She stopped, hanging from the stone, when her stomach growled. Closing her eyes, Krishna waited for Loki to look over the side and catch her, but no such event happened.

Was he freaking deaf?

And then she continued on, pushing the thoughts of frozen pizza out of her mind. She wondered how much of a scare she could get out of him…

**xXxXx**

Loki released the black feather and let it skip away on the breeze. Tucking a stray piece of hair behind his ear, Loki sighed gently through his nose and allowed the anger he was feeling to ebb away. The embarrassment still stuck to his ribs, but at least he could release the anger. Eventually, he decided, he was going to be strong enough to take on Thor and win. And he would look forward eagerly to that day.

Loki turned to look at the opposite side of the balcony, to see the massive kingdom that stretched out in front of him.

It wasn't the kingdom that was there to greet him.

Rather a pair of nearly neon steely gray eyes.

Loki froze, keeping his gaze locked on the one looking back at him. He tipped his head to one side.

The eyes tipped as well.

He turned his head to the other side.

The eyes turned with him.

When Loki's eyes narrowed, the eyes staring at him slendered due to a smile. And then deftly, ever so deftly, KrishnaLan whispered a gentle-

"_Boo._"

Loki didn't move at all. He stayed calm and collect, eyes narrowed, watching Krishna intensely. And for a long moment, she was completely afraid that his glare was going to push her off the balcony.

"Who are you, female?" Loki's question didn't really catch Krishna's attention, and she was staring very longingly at a bundle of fruits sitting in a golden bowl on a table inside Loki's room. He followed her eyeline, seeing that she was focused on the food.

"Batman." Krishna replied monotonously. She finally released her gaze on the fruits to look back at Loki. He was slender, tall. He had a thin, hungry look about him that only reflected more in his hollow cheeks and glimmering green eyes. Krishna was jealous of those eyes. She wished she had eyes like that.

"A man of bats?" Loki asked. It was refreshing to see so much confusion in those eyes.

"No, just…" Krishna stayed perfectly perched on the balcony. "Nevermind. Don't make yourself sick over it." She shifted her feet out from under her so she was sitting properly on the railing. "My name is Krish. At least, whatever, you can call me Krish."

The confusion didn't leave Loki's pale face.

"Y'know?" Krish tried to prod him along, but he was still immensely disoriented. "The Hindu Gods? You don't know about them?" Loki shook his head slowly. "Don't worry about it, I'll find you a book or something. I know about your little duel today. I watched it."

Loki suddenly didn't like this topic.

"Is that so?"

"Yeah. And you know why you didn't win?" Krish pointed up at him, one eye closing and the other focusing intently on him. Loki grumbled.

The last thing he needed was to be given dueling tips by a stranger girl sitting on his balcony. What lower form of insult is there? And why hadn't Loki just shoved her off by now? Shoving her off seemed like the better option, and he found himself debating on when he was going to do it. He braced himself for whatever thin advice was going to be given him. She was probably going to critique his form or his use of magic. And he was thinking of a viable comeback for when she did.

"It was because you didn't have a token from me." She said. Loki's eyebrows knitted together. Krishna remained completely deadpan for as long as she could before busting up into laughter. "I wish I was kidding, though. Thor had a token from Sif, but you didn't have one from anyone at all. You think you can go about things by yourself, but you're wrong."

And then her eyes snapped back to the fruit.

"Do you want one of those?" Loki asked softly. Maybe giving her the food would give her a reason to leave. So he crossed his room toward the shiny golden bowl and picked up one of the gleaming fruits, keeping his other hand regally behind his back and never slackening his posture.

Krishna took it gingerly from his hands.

"Do I have to give you my soul or something in return?" She asked. "Is that how this works?" Loki only blinked slowly and stared at her. She took a bite of the fruit, feeling the juices snake down her chin. "You shouldn't give food to stray animals, Loki. They have a way of coming back for more."

"Well," Loki turned around to motion at the abundance of fruit. "There's more to come back to." But when he looked back over, she was gone. And only the glintings of the Asgardian kingdom were there to keep him company.


	4. Shanking Loki

_**Author's Noting...** Chapter 4. In which Krishna acts like a sarcastic little punk.I think you'll like this new chapter quite a bit. If you're anything like me, that is. Because I love this chapter. A lot. It's long, too! That's pretty good. Don't be afraid to send a review, I love feedback. And the second I get some extra time, I'm going to respond to each review. _

_Floss every day!_

_EVERY DAY! xD_

**NORMAL POV**

If Loki had to choose a room that most of the palace stayed away from, it would be the library. Because, after all, a group of war heads wouldn't be particularly fond of reading. Unless of course the book was about war. And after skimming through a massive chunk of books on the huge shelves, Loki realized that about half of them _were _war related.

Go figure.

So now he was forced to scale the ladder and search the uppermost shelves for something that would assist him. That's where he found himself – standing high above the floor on the top rung of the ladder, running his fingers over the many old books. When he couldn't find what he was looking for, he would push the ladder over a way and continue the search.

Finally, after what seemed like hours of looking over the many different 'H' books ("Really, how many can there be?"), Loki found exactly what he was looking for.

Because if the Asgard palace library didn't have it, no one did.

He sighed, adjusting his position to sit down on the top rung. He cracked open the cover of "Hindu Mythology – First Volume" and flicked through the unused pages. Until he ran across the single figure he was looking for.

_Sadguru – The Messenger of Karma - __Also referred to as KrishnaLan (meaning little Krishna), this unholy figure finds joy in the suffering of others. Usually in female form –_

Loki paused. "Usually…?"

_KrishnaLan will find any undesirable way to bend her victim's Karma against them in large amounts. Originally meant to be a seeker of good and a fair judge, KrishnaLan was appointed by the Gods to be the medium that Karma travels through to the mortals. From the beginning of this holy ordinance, KrishnaLan rebelled from the Gods and turned to a way of evil seeking. While she is supposed to help deliver good Karma, she usually holds back and instead waits for a time when she can deliver the opposite. _

_After being in a rebellion for so long, KrishnaLan turned back to the Gods in a way to gain back her immortality. _

_Until the Gods choose a mission for her to earn such back, she will continue to be a bringer of bad Karma. It is only when – _

Loki snapped to look away from the book as the grand door to the library opened. He

had nearly forgotten that he was up on the ladder, and the height made him momentarily dizzy. Sif entered in through the arch, closing the door behind her. A sneer slowly worked its way up Loki's nose.

It took her a moment to make eye contact with him, but when she did, the sneer spread to her own face as well. Loki snapped the book closed with a practiced flick of his wrist, tucked it under his arm, and began climbing down the ladder. Sif stepped forward into the beaming evening light filtering through the grand windows, a book grasped in her thin hands. She eyed the book underneath Loki's arm with civility as he transferred it to his hands.

"Lady Sif." Loki's cold greeting, accompanied by a stiff bow, was only on the case of required politeness.

She returned it with a nod of her own head. "Odinson."

Once the formalities were out of the way, Loki continued toward the door, hoping to make a clean exit without being bothered again by her. And certainly, the last thing he wanted was for her to bring up his last failed duel. She _did_ confront him before he was able to leave, but with –

"Loki, I haven't seen you in the library before. Though I would have assumed a person of your nature to read quite a bit."

Loki turned around to look at her, one of his hands already on the doorhandle and the want of escape fresh on his mind. "I usually prefer to read from my own personal collection. These libraries have nothing of my interest." He kept his head up.

"It seems as if you've found something to capture your interest this time, however." Sif's eyes darted once again to the book, and Loki moved his hand to obstruct the title. "And an interesting choice it seems."

"I'll have you believe that it is only for light reading."

"Then I suppose I must believe it."

Loki bowed again, keeping his eyes locked on Sif, and then he slipped out the door with sleek elegance.

**xXxXx**

Upon returning to his chambers, Loki closed the book tentatively and slid it onto the small table by the wall. His eyes slowly shifted to the golden bowl of fruit. Yet another piece was missing, creating an even larger dent in the display. He sighed, put one hand to his temple, and then turned around to face his room. Nothing shifted. Nothing moved. So Loki took the initiative.

"I know you're there, woman." The statement came just a little more than half-heartedly. "Only a select group of people can sneak up on me and you and not one of them."

But the room remained silent and unshifting, making Loki very uncomfortable.

"I wasn't trying to sneak up on you." Loki actually sighed in relief when Krishna's voice came from the bathroom. At least he wasn't going crazy.

Yet.

"By the way," Krish walked into the main room, holding her hair back as she clipped it up. "Your tub his huge. Have you ever noticed that? I legitimately think you could fit a freaking whale in that thing."

"I have no time for your impertinence, girl." Loki sneered, gathering back his composure and using it to fix his posture.

"Oh really?" Krishna paused, staring up at him and then looking around the room. "I don't see you doing anything else. Except being a jacka-"

"Listen, female." Loki stopped Krishna before she could cuss at him all the way.

"Woman, girl, female." Krish held up a finger for each name. "You know, that's funny. I thought I told you my name yesterday. I don't call you 'man, boy, male' so cut it out."

"Fair enough." Loki rubbed one of his tired eyes with the back of his hand. "Tell me the reason you are here again, wo... uh... Krish."

"You expected me to sneak up on you. But I'm about to do something you don't see coming. Even after I tell you exactly what I'm going to do." A sheen of mischievous glimmer reflected in her eyes as she slowly approached Loki.

"And that would be...?"

"I'm going to shank you with this..." Krishna held up a thin, silver dagger with beautiful white detailing all across the bottom. "In three seconds." Loki raised one eyebrow. "Right there." Krishna reached out and touched the soft, unprotected spot right below Loki's ribcage.

He didn't flinch at all. He kept calm, standing straight, feet poised, and eyeing the dagger with humor dancing in his eyes. It was Krishna's turn to raise an eyebrow.

"One." She started, watching Loki carefully for any hint of giving up. But he stayed collect in his puddle of disbelief.

"Two." Loki didn't move. In fact, a devilish little smile worked its way over his mouth. He was perfectly convinced that she wasn't going to make well on her threat. Krish gave a considerable pause, nudging him with her eyes, giving him one last chance to redeem himself.

"Alright, three." And in one fluid motion, Krishna plunged the dagger into Loki's flesh. He gasped and doubled back, but she only drove it farther in, ripping the fragile tendons and nerves in the way of the blade. The white hot pain radiated from Loki's sternum, and he could feel the pressure of something unwanted in his chest cavity.

Krish let go of the handle, leaving Loki to take a few steps back. He coughed, gripping onto the handle but not working up the nerve to pull it out. Krishna, (surprise, surprise), was laughing hysterically.

"I believe a stranger just stabbed you in the ribs, Loki. But, to be fair, I did warn you." And then she lapsed into another bout of laughter. "That's point _one_ for team Krishna and point _zero_ for team Loki!"

The god was still struggling to gain back his normal breathing, realizing that the weapon was probably inserted into his diaphragm.

"And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how you pimp a Norse god." Krishna took a deep bow. "Ah-thank you."

"Krishna," Loki breathed softly. His eyes made up for the anger that his voice couldn't manage. She stood upright again. Her face was more serious now as she approached him.

"Stop being so cocky." Krishna snuck into Loki's space, pushing him gently in the chest. Loki instinctively cringed as her nimble little fingers wrapped around the dagger's handle. "When you get threatened, you take that threat as being serious. And poof. You've avoided something." She yanked the dagger out of Loki's abdomen, making him grunt from the recesses of his chest.

As Loki gripped onto his wound and healed himself, Krishna held the dagger up in the reflects of the setting sun. The remnants of Loki's blood shimmered in the dulling light. It was bluish blood, some of it dripping down the blade and snaking its way to Krishna's fingers, congregating in black droplets. The blood slowly oxidized back to red, and for one deceptively long moment, Krishna wanted to bottle it up and run away with it. She hummed, taking in the chemistry of the composition before wiping the most of it off on her pants.

"Humility..." Loki was back to normal, and it pissed Krish off with how quickly he could snap back. He leaned to sit down on his palatial bed. "Is not one of my best qualities."

"I'm not telling you to be humble." (And then as a side thought, she tossed the dagger next to him on the bed with "Here, you keep that. Souvenir.") "I'm telling you to be smarter. Keep your pride guarded. And when you're sure the victory belongs to you, THEN show off a little. If you spend all your energy worrying about how good you look, you won't have time to focus on avoiding the punch coming toward your face."

"Or the blade toward my sternum."

Krishna winked. "Exactly."

"So you think your act of stabbing me, even in its simplicity, can force me to learn and adapt a lesson in training combat?" Loki squinted up at her, his voice soaking in an almost disgust. A disgust that Krishna couldn't quite place- whether it was for her or her techniques.

"It's worked so far."

"Which only forces me to wonder what other painful things you'll have me endure in the name of knowledge." Loki felt over his clothing to see how much was stained in blood. "Forgive me if I am not overly keen on your methods."

"Maybe you should start being ready for them."

"Pray tell what I should be preparing for next?" Loki asked. "If you'll be so gracious as to allow me the advantage."

"Being impaled." Krishna said simply. Her words left a smear of panic on Loki's face. She let it settle into his subconscious, eat away ever so slightly at his nerves, and then eased him with, "Nah, I'm just kidding." A pause. "Kind of." She gazed off into Asgard, crossing her hands behind her back. Loki stayed focused on the shadow her slender body was casting on the floor of his chamber room.

"I should have reported you by now. Let the proper authorities drag you down to the dungeons." It was almost a half threat that came from him, but it phased Krishna in no way. She remained poised and unmoved.

"But you won't." She suddenly said. Hers wasn't a threat at all. It was something she obviously believed to know. By the way she held her words alone, Loki almost started to believe it himself.

"Why is that?"

She turned her head to look at him, making the rays of the ever-sinking sun reflect from the sheen of her black hair. Her greenish eyes locked with Loki's. "You can answer that question for yourself, I think." She turned away, and when the stare was broken Loki felt like he had been released from the grasp that her eyes held on him. "Besides, I'm not that far in your head yet. But I'll get there."

There was a long gap in the conversation. Mostly because Loki didn't know how to properly respond to someone who just confidently stated that they would work their way into his head. The more he thought about it, the more he realized that thinking about it only let her in, and the more he thought about that... He finally decided to just numb his thoughts and let them settle in place.

"You should get some sleep. I know you don't need to, but you could use it." Krish was satisfied to see Loki yawn. Being shanked must have been an excruciating adrenaline rush for him, and now that it was over, he was starting to crash. "That'll give me the opportunity to impale you in your sleep."

He snapped his head up.

Only to see Krishna laughing to herself and jumping off the balcony.

She was an absolute psychopath. Completely. Undeniably. After all, she just stabbed Loki below his lungs moments before. Only to turn around and threaten very convincingly to do something similar to a less desirable part of his body.

Psychopath.

And Loki couldn't decide if he found that carnivorously attractive...

Or absolutely terrifying.


	5. Ten Minute Intervention

_**Author's Note:** A little note to the response I got (which by the way, the response itself had me jumping like a loon)(That's a Hiddles' twitter quote in case anyone was wondering. No? Alrighty then.)_

_First off, to **Dark Mind of the American Teen**, to clear up any confusions, Loki and Krishna are both in their teens at this point. Probably late teens, and Loki might be edging into his early twentish years. I hope that helps at all? I know I should probably be better at these things... XD The story will evolve and there'll be a time gap in there, but for now they're in the teens._

_To **GamerRCL0505**, holy crap I hope your mouse is alright. Geez, that stupid little review button. You know, I did consider putting it through training, but I've been updating so fast I haven't had the time. Heaven almighty. If it gives you any more trouble, shank it like Krishna would. I appreciate the effort to ward past it and review anyway. :3_

_A** MASSIVE** thank you to all else who reviewed, and you'll be getting messages from me thanking you on a more personal level. If y'all have anymore questions, don't be afraid to ask. I love them._

_**BY THE WAY**, someone sent me a personal message asking me what I thought Loki's and Krishna's song would be. I thought about it all freaking day and decided if it was up to Krishna, she would have it be something screamo or heavy metal._

_But it's not up to Krish, it's up to me._

_I think their song would be a** hardcore dubstep remix of Katy Perry's ET.**_

_I found a dubstep of that song on the net, and it just screamed KRISHKI. (Which, by the way, is a name that's starting to grow on me now. Thank you, **the c-tay** XD) The good dubstep version, not the bad one._

_How many of you are still following me through all this ranting? Kudos to you._

_I dunno, what do YOU think their song would be? Tell meh._

_About this chapter... It's kinda fluffy, but in a Loki fluff kind of way. I felt morally inclined to balance out the stabbing from the last chapter. And am I the only one who loves the fact that Krishna keeps breaking into Loki's room? For some reason, even as the writer, that sends me into stitches._

_(PS. Long author's note is long)_

_(PPS. Awesome readers are awesome)_

**NORMAL-ISH POV (Because nothing with Krish is normal)(Dear heavens above, make the ranting stop...)**

"AH! Bested me yet again, Fandral!" Thor slammed one colossal hand down on the table, shaking the pieces of the board game. A game very similar to what Midgardians would call 'chess', but with half the pieces to accompany the half-wits who played it.

Or, at least, that was how Loki saw it.

But Loki saw things in dull light all the time.

"Well, it is not difficult to best you, Thor, when you move the pieces with such a rash attitude." Fandral chuckled to himself and began resetting the game with one hand, stroking the minor scruff on his chin with the other. Loki sat quietly at the other end of the short table, resting on it with his chin and watching the marathon of games take place.

He would consider what he would have played instead, where he would have moved the pieces. And, for the most part, no one really said anything to him. So really, even though he was in the company of the two others, Loki found this a very enjoyable way to spend a slow morning. He found that he particularly liked mornings such as this, when things were unorganized and the young adults of the court were allowed to do as they pleased for the day.

"Why don't you take the first move this time, Thor," Fandral offered. "Since it seems your luck is usually better that way."

_'Who is he jesting?_' Loki thought. _'Thor is horrendous at this game no matter what.'_ In fact, Thor hadn't won a game all morning. Even with Fandral's gracious assistance. And every time Loki would try to nudge in and help Thor along, he was shushed rather loudly, and one of Thor's hands was put in front of Loki's face. So Loki fell back into silence as the moments dragged forward and the pieces slowly moved across the board.

After a while of this, Loki found his eyes starting to close. When he caught them drooping, he would snap them open again, shift his position, and continue watching. He hadn't gotten any sleep the night before. And it wasn't because he didn't try; because, oh, he tried.

But every time he closed his eyes, nasty visions of KrishnaLan impaling him slapped him awake.

Damn it. She was getting in his head.

Finally, to the sound of Fandral's laughter and Thor's persistence that he was right, Loki could feel a quick nap tugging on the edges of his eyes. So he closed them. Then he could feel sleep slowly easing its way over his body. So he let it. Once he was confident that Krishna wasn't going to appear and shove a spear up his spine, he was actually thinking that he might get to sleep after all. Even if it was just a bite of sleep there on the game table.

Loki put his arms under his head and inhaled through his nose. Something tickled at one of his pinkies, so he cracked open one eye to look at it. Just a thin little sliver of a feather. That was all. Loki flicked it away and resumed his peaceful napping as the tiny feather glided elegantly to the stone floor and settled next to his boot.

He continued to be a part of the game by listening to the casual banter back and forth.

"A good move there, Fandral."

"Yes, I wish I could say the same of yours."

A few clicks of the pieces on the board.

"Would this move be legal play?"

"No, Thor." Followed by Fandral's well-known exasperated sigh. "You can only move that piece straight forward."

"Ah! Am I allowed to move it this way?"

"That isn't straight forward, is it?"

"Which would make this illegal as well?"

"Really, Thor." Another sigh. "Straight is not a difficult direction to follow. Here, let me just move the piece for you this time..."

Loki couldn't help but smile into his elbow at such a display of idiocy. But his smile was cut very short when something painful and small collided with the exposed part of his forehead. Loki exclaimed, sat up briskly, and flipped around to look for his attacker. All the while, Fandral and Thor watched him in stupefied silence.

Loki cleared his throat, adjusted his clothing, and gestured for them to continue in the game. They took a moment to make sure he was all well; then it was back to being completely absorbed in the match. However, Loki would not be so easily dissuaded into dismissal of the situation. So he tucked back into his arms on the table, keeping his eyes up and narrowed, watching every window carefully.

It didn't take very long at all for another piece of ammo to be hurled into Loki's cheek. He picked up the dry cherry seed from where it had bounced off his face and onto the table, and his eyes slowly rose up. He looked right past the board game, directly across the room from him, and at the spacious window that was cut there.

And who was peering in through the window?

Krishna. Krishna was peering in through the window.

Once she made sure she had only Loki's attention, she silently motioned for him to join her outside. Loki shook his head slowly, and very resolutely mouthed the word 'No.' Krishna narrowed her eyes into thin little slits. But Loki remained set on his answer. He was enjoying his morning.

He didn't need Krishna to ruin it.

Meanwhile, Thor and Fandral were in a very heated part of their game (as heated as watered down chess could be). Both were far too absorbed to notice the silent conversation flowing between them in the air.

She tried again, jerking her head to the side to signal that she wanted Loki to follow her. He leaned back in his chair, folded his arms, and pursed his mouth in a way that read, very clearly, "If you want me, come in here and get me."

Krishna tipped her head down, sending Loki the message, "You know I will. And it won't be pretty." Which suddenly sent a cascade of impaling thoughts scraping through Loki's head. But he stood his ground anyway, keeping his arms folded and his mouth tight. Krishna facepalmed and then looked back up at him, getting slightly more desperate. She held out both hands and mouthed "Ten minutes. Just ten minutes."

Loki raised an eyebrow, copying her action and holding up his hands. "Ten minutes?" She nodded vigorously. He pointed at her. "You promise?" To which she slowly shook her head back and forth. But it was good enough for Loki, who was getting sick of watching the slow chess games anyway. He slid out his chair and started walking for the door. He could loop out of the palace, follow the way around, and then meet up with Krishna at the same window. It wouldn't take all to much time, though it might butcher the ten minute restriction.

Another dry cherry seed thunked into the back of his head. He reared around to glare at Krishna, who was coaxing him over to the window. Loki looked down at dry seed, leaned down, picked it up, and tossed it into the air, catching it again. Krishna raised an eyebrow. It was only when he loaded up to throw it back at her that Krishna's eyes widened and she ducked down out of sight. Loki threw it as hard as he could manage, and felt completely satisfied when it hit target with a 'thunk'.

Then ever so calmly, making sure not to arouse too much suspicion, Loki straightened his back and walked toward his new exit point elegantly. Krishna had disappeared from the arching window to allow Loki a clean getaway.

"Brother, where are you going?" Thor asked the question at the most peculiar time, when Loki already had his legs out and was sitting on the thick stone platform.

"To take a walk along the grounds." Loki replied calmly.

"This room is several stories above the ground, brother." Thor said slowly. Fandral stayed in a single position: watching Loki like a lunatic with a furrowed brow.

"I know that." Loki sneered. But, in fact, he had forgotten how high they were and he was suddenly anxious. Which also made him realize how ridiculous he probably looked for trying to slip out the window. "Do not question me, Thor. Leave me to my motives."

"And what do I tell mother if she is to come looking for you?"

"Tell her I went for a walk." Loki said simply. "It isn't quantum physics, I'm fairly confident you can handle it." And leaving that in mind, Loki dropped down and disappeared from their view. Fandral and Thor watched the empty window for just a moment longer.

"So what think you of this move?" Thor pointed at the board. Fandral sighed.

"The piece can only go straight, Thor."

**xXxXx**

"It's interesting that you've finally worked up the courage to confront me in the daytime." Loki took the initiative to confront her first, and he found that there was a tremendous amount of hatred seeping from the cracks of his voice. Once he had followed her down onto a barren balcony, she sat down and he remained standing.

"You sound bitter."

"You don't say?"

"Being angry with me isn't a good choice for you right now. You already have things working against you." Krishna sighed, pulling her legs to cross underneath her.

"You stabbed me last night." Loki sneered.

"In the name of knowledge, you said that yourself." Krish sneered back. Loki took a lengthy pause to look over the features of her face. Now that he could actually see them.

Her complexion wasn't as fair and delicate in the morning light, and she had circles around her eyes from lack of sleep. She seemed tired and irritated, making it only come off as being abrasive. But aside from her flaws, there was a kind of rugged strength that she held in her jawline. Loki couldn't figure whether it was the jaw itself or the way she held it.

Her eyes were more green in this light, resembling something close to his own, and her sleek black hair moved like liquid when she turned her head. But Loki pushed her attractive qualities to the side, reminding himself that he was angry with her.

"I think I'm the closest thing you have to a friend right now." She suddenly said.

"Nonsense. I have plenty of friends in the court." Loki snapped back in an unconvincing tone. "And none of them stab me. You know, I didn't get any sleep last night thanks to your threat of impalation."

"You don't know how tempted I was…" Krishna chuckled to herself, despite the searing glare Loki was sending her way. "to sneak back into your room with a spear and poke you with it until you woke up."

Loki felt a smile tug at the corners of his mouth, but he resisted it. And he found himself having to remember that he was angry.

_Stay angry with her, Loki._ He thought to himself. _Stop smiling, you idiot. Why are you smiling? _

"Tell me why you've dragged me away from my oh-so-interesting morning."

"You call that interesting?"

"Disclose your purpose, or I promise I will end you."

"You know," Krishna looked up at him, pointing one finger his way and squinting her left eye closed. "I don't think death threats are an appropriate way to begin this conversation. I think you should apologize."

Loki stared at her. "Absolutely not."

"Just say 'I'm sorry for being such a brat.'" Krish stated simply. Loki scoffed, shaking his head and looking around.

"I haven't been a brat." He denied. His voice had dropped slightly, because he knew Krishna was right.

"I'm pretty sure that if I got a dictionary and looked up the word 'brat', there would be a picture of your face there." She remained ever collect and calm, making Loki feel like he actually was the one at fault.

He shook his head and denied Krishna the decency of a response.

"Fine." Krish stood up and brushed off the shirt of her simple salwar kameez. "Where's a dictionary?"

"I can't believe I'm humoring you." Loki sighed and Krish's mouth turned into a sneer as she waited for the inevitable. He looked up at her, his mouth trying to form the words, but the little pit of selfishness in his heart preventing it. And then, finally, when he looked away from her searing gaze, he said, "I'm sorry for being such a brat."

"I forgive you." Krish shoved him gently in the shoulder, and the walls he had been building up against her for the last few minutes seemed to come crashing down around him. A strange feeling strummed at his stomach, and he couldn't place it.

"Now, listen." Krish boosted herself up to sit on the balcony's railing. "The palace is throwing another feast in a few days."

"I didn't know that."

"The only reason I know is because I'm an eavesdropping little rat. And there's a skirmish going on at the edges of the kingdom that Asgard is bound to win. By the way, have you noticed that they throw feasts for no reason at all?" Krish asked. Loki hummed his agreeance. "Anyway. This feast will fall in the two week period for you to challenge Thor to a rematch."

Loki's reaction was priceless. His nose crinkled up and he paired it with, "… The hell? No! My dignity's already been spilled on the floor from the last match! And now you're suggesting that we melt it down completely!"

"Can I just tell you how much I love your imagery?"

"KRISHNA!"

"Fine! But, listen! This is your one chance to pick up the pieces of your dignity and put them back together." She said simply. And for one heart-pounding moment, Loki actually regretted yelling at her.

"That wasn't bad imagery yourself."

"Thanks." Krishna smiled. "I've been working on it."

"I'll think about it." Loki said calmly. He looked down at the palms of his hands and then back up at Krishna. But she was gone. He flailed his arms. "HOW DOES SHE DO THAT?"


	6. You Shouldn't Tell Lies

_**Note de l'auteur - **THAT WAS FRENCH! I'm so horrible at that language, but I DON'T CARE! Onto the business! _

_For those of you who read Dark Humor, this chapter will be very familiar. But there are twists in it. Lots of twists. And there's bantering at the end. I just loved this so much, I had to put it into Black Feathers. _

_Thank you so much for the positive feedback! It means a lot to me, as I hope you all know. And now a quick little response to a couple of the reviews..._

_To **Kellyhorse, **welcome to the world of Black Feathers! I'm glad you found it! I'm really excited for this story. _

_To **Bleached-Whale **YES! Krishna and Loki's official song is going to be Shake the Ground by Cherri Bomb! That song... is so perfect... in every way... _

_*does random happy dance and hopes you'll forgive me for it*_

**ONTO THE KRISHKI-NESS! **

"Loki..." The thin voice trailed off darkly into a realm of silence. Echoing gently, hissing in the blackness. Loki's eyes opened on the massive plain of nothing. All around him stretched an endless black sea of polished marble, thin strips of white swirled among the dark tiles, shimmering in the equally dark sky. Was it even worthy to be considered the sky? More comparable to a slick chessboard that surrounded him in an even slicker imprisonment. Loki watched the ground blankly, partially expecting something to move, something to shift in the swirls of the marble. Nothing moved. But in a way, it did. Some sort of mythic, strange movement that Loki's eyes alone could see. It was calming in a way. The way the smell of the sea is calming, or the feeling just before you fall asleep.

"Look up at me, Loki. Look at my eyes." The voice beckoned softly, but it was layers of softness over a hard, ferocious core. A swarm of biting ants waiting for prey and tingling every time an opportunity drew near. Loki upturned his head slowly, the world shifting in his line of vision. He looked up to the eyes of -

Himself.

His own face twisted into a smile in front of him, crouched down low and ominous, inches from Loki's skin. His features were more mature, his hair slightly longer; a future version of himself. Now all Loki wanted was to shift away from himself, the apparition in front of him. He looked to the side.

"Why are you afraid to look at me, _Odin_ son?" The mirror man snarled so darkly, Loki closed his eyes and begged for it to leave; begging to nothing but the empty air when it swirled around him gently. When he opened his eyes, he wanted to be rid of it. So dark and so cold. "Look at me!" And Loki was forced to look.

There was a charcoal residue around its eyes that darkened them and caved them in. The eyes themselves were laced separately with the same aura that surrounded Hell. It never stopped smiling down at Loki, an uneven, curled and haunting smile with an unspoken laughter that would only echo through the halls of tombs and mausoleums. The apparition's thin black hairs faded away into a wispy trail as he moved from in front of Loki to behind him, and even its clothes seemed to float on an unseen air current. Its posture was beautiful, perfect. Loki's eyes were fixed, glassy and doll-like on the tile tundra around him.

"What do you see, Loki?" The apparition's scaly hand gripped the back of Loki's head and turned it down to look at the marble. Thin white swirls finally did start to move. They congregated together in a mass that now glinted with gold. Two very tall glints of gold, shimmering with glory and honor.

"I see a set of horns." The words slipped out of Loki's mouth mechanically, dripping down into his lap and snaking their way into the darkness. 'I see... I see... horns... I see my horns... I see... I see...' The sentence slowly rattled away into the darkness.

"You lie." The apparition snarled, mouth nearly pressed to Loki's ear, and the word 'lie' impacting Loki somewhere deep within his stomach. But Loki didn't lie. He didn't lie. He didn't..."Tell me what you see." Apparition gave another chance. Loki watched the thin white marble swirls shift again, the mysterious horns melting away to form a different image in the floor. It formed a burst of flame, green and black with tiny sparks of gold deep within the dark-set stone. Loki hesitated before answering.

"I see my magic." He whispered, hoping that the phrase would stay stationary. But the words still tumbled out of his mouth and pooled next to him on the floor, a kind of silver mess of text. 'Magic... Magic... I see my...MY... I see... I see... MAGIC...' it hissed darkly up at him, ending off with deranged laughter, also feeling like it had just emerged from Hell. The apparition snapped its hand down and gripped Loki's face, turning him sharply to face himself. Its skin was ice. Cutting through and almost burning Loki's cheeks with its thin fingertips.

Loki's eyes, wide and fearful, darted around the space as he struggled to free himself. His own face, though distorted and darkened, leaned down next to him, its cold breath touching Loki's skin softly.

"LOKI, WHAT DO YOU SEE?" He was thrown to the ground, his pale hands breaking the fall, to stare at the new shape in the tile. But one of his tears dripped down and blurred the image, making it distorted and unclear.

"I do not…" He choked back, "I do not know! I cannot see!" He quickly wiped his eyes and tried to dry the tear from the floor. His hand swished around the white shapes as well, only further ruining the picture. "I cannot see it!"

Laughter can be a dreadful thing. It crawls up a person's spine and grips to their nerves like a parasite, sucking away any hope to feed its own terrible body. This laughter, this laughter that strung behind Loki as the apparition of himself mocked his panicked behavior, clutched to his very frame like chains. It wrapped around him and grew ever tighter. Loki turned to look at his older self. Standing, laughing gently and cruelly. He was twirling something in his fingers.

Silver, glinting silver and thin with a long, thin black feather hanging from the end.

A needle. It was a needle.

"Loki _Odin_son..." The apparition muttered, particularly emphasizing the word 'Odin'. Loki tried to scramble to his feet, tried to flee away from the maniac version of himself that was growing ever nearer with the needle. But his feet wouldn't cooperate, and the apparition held Loki's head against his chest and brought the needle ever closer to Loki's mouth. Loki struggled, muffled screams coming from his nose, hot tears drizzling down his face, and he tried to move away. "Loki _Odin_son, you are a liar." Loki shook his head panickedly. "You are a liar."

"I am not!" He screamed.

'LIES!' The darkness screamed back. It sounded like a chorus of clashing harmonies. 'MORE LIES!'

The apparition of himself stepped back, and reached the needle out to someone else. Loki looked up into the older face of Krishna. She plucked the needle gently from the apparition's hand and looked at it in the dark light.

"Krishna…" Loki breathed. He was caught in a web of emotions; whether he should have been relieved or even more afraid he did not know.

"Loki Laufeyson." The voice that came from Krishna was much more dark than her real form, more mature. Her hair floated gently on the unseen air current. Apparition Loki watched her with approving eyes.

Loki's eyebrows came together as he fought back tears. "L- Laufeyson? I am Odinson! Who is Laufey, Krishna? Krishna, please tell me!"

She looked at him with tormented eyes, bending down next to him and pressing the needle to the corner of his mouth. "You should not tell lies."

Loki's bloody screaming was slowly, ever so slowly, silenced as his mouth was stitched closed with black feathers.

**xXxXx**

Loki woke up with a start, tangled in his covers and shaking violently. Already after waking up, the dream started to fade away like air. He could hardly remember the details, if he thought about it very hard. But he avoided thinking about it at all. He had nightmares occasionally, and most of them didn't have any connection to his real life, so what did he have to be afraid of in this one?

This logic was the only thing that calmed his shaking body back into a reasonable state. He was calm and collect now, taking in deep breaths from his nose.

Suddenly, something very sharp poked the middle of his back. Loki exclaimed in pain and sat up violently to face his attacker.

Krish was standing there in the dull midnight light by his bedside, holding a massive spear. Like she threatened she would. The little devil poked him awake with it. Loki gave an exasperated sigh and slammed his face back into his pillows.

"My privacy is no longer sacred!' He cried into the silk-lined cotton. Krish continued to look at him with almost scared eyes. She leaned against one of the posters holding up the canopy to his bed.

"Are you okay there, man?" She asked slowly. "I didn't mean to give you nightmares or anything, but if I did I think that's another point for me." She was replied only with a muffled groan from Loki. "You know, you're pretty adorable when you aren't so proper."

"Krishna." Loki moaned. "I demand you tell me the reason you have yet again stolen into my chambers."

"Well, the feast is in two days." Krishna tried to sit down on the edge of his bed, but when she made contact with the covers, he growled into the pillow. She stood up. "I came to remind you to train. Get your magic skills harnessed, stay humble. No slacking off."

"That's the only reason?"

"I also came to give you this." Krishna's voice had dropped down. Loki willed himself (and it did take quite a bit of will) to raise out of his pillow and look at what she was holding. She had sat down on the end of his bed anyway, and she was extending her hands out to him.

He plucked the item gingerly away from her. He held the clamp-style hair accessory with two fingers. "A plastic hairclip." The words came out more dejectedly than he planned.

"A token." Krish corrected. "I'm not going to give you my scarf or something. That's too cliché. And that hairclip is more important to me than you think it is." She pointed at it, and Loki suddenly got a very overprotective feeling over it.

Loki looked down at it and held onto it with his other fingers as well.

"You and I won't speak again until after the rematch duel." Krishna said. Why did Loki feel his stomach sink? "But I'll never be too far away." And for an unknown reason, Loki suddenly took comfort in the fact that she would be near. His stomach settled and his nerves calmed. Loki stayed silent, and both sets of eyes remained on the glinting of the plastic accessory. Krishna didn't like the silence and felt that it needed to be filled again.

"If I don't see you wearing that thing somewhere on your clothing, this…" She gestured at the spear she was holding. "You know what I'll do with it."

"Where did you get that thing anyway?" Loki asked.

"Meh." Krish's shoulders shrugged casually. An every day occurrence, almost. "I took it from one of the guards."

"You just…" Loki raised an eyebrow at her, realizing he was still tangled in his covers (and far too lazy to get himself untangled). "You just took it? As in 'oh, here, random girl wants to borrow your weapon' and they just gave it to you?"

"Well it's not really borrowing, though, is it?" Krishna twisted the spear in her hand.

"You aren't going to give it back?"

"There's no one to give it back _to_…"

"Dear Gods!" Loki exclaimed, throwing his covers up into the air reflexively. "You didn't _kill_ the guard, did you?"

"No." Krish said simply, "Just scared the crap out of him. He went running for the Bifrost." Loki stared at her with a glazed over, horrified stare. A stare that went unbroken for at least ten seconds, and Krishna held it back.

"How the hell did you manage that?" Loki asked quietly, looking over Krishna's slender frame and delicate features.

"I'll show you eventually, but not now." Krish leaned in. "Do you want to see my disappearing trick again?"

"Not particularly."

Krishna's nose sneered up at her lost chance to freak him out. It was becoming her new favorite past time, freaking Loki out, and she reached for any opportunity to do it. "Fine. You little killjoy. Whatever. I'll just take the door, then."

"Yes!" Loki scrambled out of his covers, slipping less-than elegantly onto the smooth floor. "Please do! Here, I'll show you out!" Krishna rolled her eyes, standing up and taking Loki's sarcastic escort offer by putting her arm in his. He walked her across the massive room, and then opened the huge door to guide her to the hallway.

"You know I'll be back after the match." She sneered. Loki started closing the door, holding up the hairclip.

"Take your time." He sneered back. "I'll keep your precious little hairclip safe."

"I hate you."

"The feeling is mutual." And the door closed with a vibrating 'thud'.

But each of the two persons had strange tingling sensation in their arms where they had touched, and interesting fluttering feelings in their stomachs. Krishna took the time as she was walking to individually slaughter every butterfly that sprung up in her stomach. And Loki glared angrily at his until they went away.

Because both of them hated it.


	7. Doing the Reading

**NANANANANANANANANANANA**… **does anyone remember Krishna's old Batman joke? I remember…**

_**OFFICIAL AUTHOR'S NOTE!** Thank you again for the fantastic feedback! For all the reviews, follows, and favorites, I owe you guys my soul and then some! I think if I gave you each a small piece of my soul, you could plant it in a pot and it would grow into a whole soul by the end of the month._

_I think I'll do that. I could give you care instructions and everything._

_Does that work for you guys?_

_Anyway, fun chapter coming up with more Krishna-ess without Krishna even being there… and a sleep deprived Loki. Who doesn't love a sleep deprived Loki?_

_Don't forget to give that review button a little click. (I sent it to training for the last couple days, so now it won't bite, I promise!)_

"**Because they're dead, Loki. DEAD." **

**TO THE KRISHKI! (My, how I love that name…) **

"She only appears to the ones she plans to…" Loki's words faded out and his head slid down from its resting place on his hand. He snapped his eyes back open with a sharp intake of breath and went back to the text. "She only appears to the ones… the ones she…" he stopped to yawn. "The ones she plans to punish."

The library started to go dark again. This was systematically followed by a self-slap and a shake of the head. The cycle was then ready to be started over again. Read, almost fall asleep, wake up, repeat. It almost seemed like the thought of a good night sleep was starting to be dreamlike. Loki could never quite reach it. Not anymore.

Loki cleared his throat and focused hard on the letters in front of him until they came into a clearer perspective. And then he continued to read, following each word along with his finger.

"She only appears to the ones she plans to punish." He paused and looked up, considering why she would have come to him. After all, he hardly knew the girl. Who was to say she didn't have ulterior motives? But the words didn't impact Loki has much as they should have; he wasn't really taking this book as being completely serious. So he went back into his reading. "Some of her favorite forms of punishment are skinning, decapitation, impaling, and disembowelment. In more recent descriptions of the Messenger, she has been recorded as individualizing the torture closely to what impacts her target in the most negative manner." Loki paused, giving himself a moment to look back over the words and let them sink into his skull.

Disembowelment. Ugh.

Loki settled back into a comfortable pace of reading, and then went back into his almost-but-not-quite-there napping.

The massive 'THUD' of the library door opening made Loki sit up sharply, cover his head and scream, with everything in his soul, "I DON'T WANT TO BE DISEMBOWELED!"

"What on Asgard are you reading?" The Lady Sif sneered at Loki, pressing herself against the door when he gave the sudden outcry. Loki, after realizing that he wasn't going to lose his intestines in the next few minutes, tucked his head farther under his arms. After taking a deep breath, Loki flipped up to look at her. He tucked a small piece of stray hair behind his ear and gathered his composure in three seconds flat.

"Why hello, Sif." He couldn't help spit the cold greeting out like some sort of leftover meal. "I find it interesting that out of all the places in the palace, you have yet again found your way to me on accident."

"That would be rather interesting, but I have not come on accident." Sif only approached by a few feet, acting like a cat. Not quite afraid of what she was speaking to, but not very comfortable with it either. And she was very cautious of him screaming again.

"I have no need of you." Accompanied by Loki's all too well mastered eye narrowing. "Why do you seek for me?"

"I would like to approach you on the topic of the girl leaving your room last night." Sif approached just a little more, and when her eyes grazed over the text in Loki's book, he automatically shut it closed and slid it into his lap. Loki's controlled demeanor melted away, and his eyelids flickered nervously.

"What... What about her?" He asked. His hands didn't know where to place themselves. They went from his ears to his lap to his face, until he finally decided just to cross them on his chest. Sif raised an eyebrow at the strange position, but Loki stared at her until she responded.

"She looked extremely upset. Rather, she wasn't walking at all. Stomping, really." Sif continued, still confused on what to think of Loki's demeanor. "And she was turning over the small tables in the hallways."

"Damn it, Krishna."

"Krishna? Is that her name?" And Sif's eyes darted once again to the book in Loki's possession. "The name of one who has stolen into Asgard's boundaries, I admit, is not elegant enough to make up for her damages."

"They were just tables, Sif." Loki's voice went down to match the seriousness of her's. His hands dropped down from his chest to rest atop the book.

"I wasn't speaking of the tables. I was speaking of her offenses to the Realm. Heimdall confided in me the nature of her arrival and the darkness of her appearance."

"Ah, yes." The sleekness of the cover lettering tingled over Loki's skin when he ran his hand over it. "I had forgotten how much the two of you talked."

"Forget it not again, Loki. How many secrets are you keeping from the Allfather? Is this girl just one of many? And, my! I never thought you were one to trifle with females. Since I haven't seen you court since you were pre-adolescent." And it was back to the personal blows. Loki could always count on Sif to get around to those. Nomatter what kind of conversation they could be having, it would always worm its way around to attack Loki's personal life.

"It is difficult to court when my brother is the main source of attention from the women." Loki's calm tone bit down with the strength of poison. "Now if you'll excuse me. I was reading." The book in Loki's lap was almost toxic to him now. He was reading it at every moment he could. When he wasn't reading it, his fingers ached for the pages and he could almost hear the words humming out to him in calling. At that very moment, he could feel his fingers tingling in anticipation to open its cover again.

"I want to know who she is, Loki." Sif sneered. Loki casually turned the page of the book and continued reading, adding on a simple-

"Then that makes two of us."

Sif gave one final smirk in his general direction, snorted a little, and then began toward the door. Loki leaned back in the chair and held the book up to his face, turning the page and reading on.

"I will find her again, and when I do, I will hold her the same I would hold a prisoner of war." Sif threatened darkly. As darkly as Sif could manage. Which, surprisingly, was much darker than Loki expected.

"You will just have bundles of fun with her, I'm sure. She is..." Loki peered over the top of his book to see Sif standing at the door and watching him with contempt. "... very pleasant, I assure you."

Sif slammed the door behind her, with Loki waving goodbye enthusiastically.

** xXxXx**

It took a while for the events of the day to really sink in with Loki. And when they did, they hardly sank in at all. They hit him like a rogue train. It felt like something massive had collided with his inner organs and was taking the time to tear them up individually. With this new wave of emotion, Loki found himself in his bed, holding his covers up to his nose, staring at the ceiling with horrified panic.

So Sif knew about Krishna. And not only did Sif know about Krishna, Sif also made a pact to find Krishna and make Krishna suffer. Really, Loki was fine with that. If Sif wanted to attempt to lock that chick up, more power to her. But surely she wouldn't keep the knowledge of Krish to herself. So what would happen to Loki if his father found out about the rebel girl? Even with that pressing down on his mind, Loki felt he could handle anything that happened.

What scared him was the book.

The words were finally starting to dawn on him. Krishna, Messenger of Karma, had randomly appeared to Loki for no reason out of thin air. Which, according to the book, was a very undesirable thing to happen. From there, it could progress on to skinning, decapitation, impaling. Disembowelment.

Loki shuddered.

He would much rather keep his organs where they were, thank you very much. He could already picture Krishna sitting on his floor, whistling to herself as she made shapes with his intestines. ("Look, Loki, I spelled your name!")

There was a slight knock on the door, and Loki threw himself out of bed to answer. Anything that could get him away from those disturbing images was welcome. Loki cracked open the huge door, peering outside to see who was there to greet him. Thor's face beamed back at him, and Loki sighed in relief.

"Thor." Loki opened the door wider. "Never have I been so relieved to see you." He looked over the rippling muscles in his brother's arms (muscles that he, himself, could never develop), and considered if they would be able to keep him safe from Krishna.

"I came to retrieve you." Thor beamed. "Are you busy?"

"Is that so?" Loki took a glance under his arm to look back at his room. Wherever Thor was going to take him had to be better than imagining a Krishna that wasn't there. Not only that, but a Krishna that wasn't there that was playing with his intestines. So Loki was willing to take himself (and his intestines, thank you) wherever Thor wanted him to. "I'm not busy at all, actually."

A lie. He was busy being freaked out.

"Wonderful! Come with me, then. The warriors three, Sif and I are all practicing in the gardens."

"Battle strategies? I don't want to go if it's battle practice." Loki closed the door ever so slightly out of habit.

"Yes, but we would not at all be offended if you felt inclined to practice magic." Thor offered. "We just want you to be involved, brother."

"And by 'we', you mean…?"

"All of us! Well, excluding The Lady Sif, I believe. She thinks to some extent that you have offended her." Thor explained, taking a glance down at the floor to think. "But she will not explain why."

"Alright, then. Let's go." Loki slipped out into the hallway, closing the door behind him. Thor was practically vibrating with excitement, and the second Loki stepped out, Thor began walking eagerly down the hallway.

"It's been quite a while since you've gotten out, Loki." Thor said, skipping down a flight of regal stairs. Loki followed after him much more elegantly. "Would you like to race to the courtyard?"

This made both of them stop in their tracks, looking at the other. "You know I would win, brother." Loki said. "Why do you ask me to bring you your own failure?"

"I doubt," Thor looked over Loki's peculiarly thin frame, "that you would bring me failure." To which Loki turned up his head and said –

"We'll see." And then he was off. Loki shoved past Thor, gliding down the remaining stairs, and began sprinting through the palace.

**xXxXx**

"So then I told him that a scoundrel such as himself should not approach me any further!" Fandral exclaimed, his voice echoing through the courtyard as he lunged forward dramatically with his sword. Sif laughed jovially, and Hogun rolled his eyes. "And that, darlings, is how I figured out that this sword here can even cut through steel."

"Fandral, what grand stories you tell!" Volstagg's tone was mechanical. "But I think we've already heard this story several-"

Loki burst into the courtyard, panting, and he threw one hand against the stone wall to steady himself. Everything went completely silent as Loki struggled to regain his breath. Then he rocketed one thin hand into the air. "YES! I am the winner, brother! I told you that you cannot best me at such things as races!"

"Whom are you speaking to, brother?" Thor's voice made Loki's exhausted face snap up. Thor was already in the courtyard, sitting on the edge of one of several water fountains. He was running his hand through the water casually. Loki's eyebrows knitted together.

"But I could have sworn…" Loki pointed at the path from which he had come, taking a second to steady his breathing. "I could have sworn you were behind me!"

"I passed you in the third hallway."

"Damn it."

"Are your trivial things done now?" Sif asked coldly. "I have practice to get to." Loki gave her a distinct glare. She gave it right back. There was a long pause where the others took time to examine the tension between the two and decided whether or not someone was going to be killed. When all seemed well, Fandral and Hogun immediately started into swordplay.

Sif extended her look at Loki just a little longer, before gradually going into her own bout of training. Loki felt over his clothes, straightening out any of the imperfections he caused while running. A particular wrinkle was starting to bother him, so he looked down to see how it was to be fixed. After perfecting the flaws, he noticed something at his feet.

Loki bent over, hesitating at first, and then went to pick up the black feather. He held it in his gaze for a while. But when he looked around the courtyard, there was no sign of the little female devil. And he wondered, even for just a moment, where she was. How near to him. Could she have been just an arms length away, hiding behind a statue or in the middle of the foliage? He looked through the frills of the plume for another long moment.

"Brother, come in and join us!" Thor exclaimed, while simultaneously snatching the sword away from Fandral and earning a yelp of disapproval.

"I'm coming! Do not rush me!" Loki released the feather and stormed over to the center of the courtyard to join the others in their training.

It glided elegantly down into the base of a water fountain, to rest ever so delicately on the water.


	8. Unexpected, Unordinary

_**OH MY ODIN. Note to Readers: **I bring you the next installment of Black Feathers! And I actually loved this one a lot, so I hope you do, too. It's extra, EXTRA long. And I'm really happy with it. I spent all night (and by all night I mean ALL NIGHT) polishing it up._

_After I watched Thor._

_But whatever, right? I had to do my character research. xD_

_Please tell me what you think about this one here. Click that review button. It's behaving a little better, so it shouldn't be pinching today. AAANNNDD this has a cliffhanger. But also whatever, right?_

_Thank you immensely for your support. I really couldn't do it without you guys. It means the next universe over to me._

_TO THE STORY!_

**xXxXx**

Pacing. Pacing is the ultimate, all-time solution to any problem in life. You have a dentist appointment coming up? Pace. You don't know what couch to buy? Pace. You're long time friend of a hamster died and you can't decide whether you want to paint its burial box a sandy red or a silky blue? Seek professional help. And then pace. Because pacing is like therapy all wrapped up in a little bundle of exercise. And you don't even have to pay the expensive price of a therapy session. Imagine that.

However, pacing wasn't doing all too much for Loki. He had been pacing for what seemed like hours on end in the grand dining hall. (Though it wasn't really a dining hall after all, was it? Since there really wasn't any dining that ever took place in it. But gorging. Drinking. Maybe a few drunken games that Loki would be graciously offered to participate in, and he would ever more graciously deny). He would pace from one end of the room to the other. Then he would stop, consider what he thought about in the last length, dismiss it completely, and then move to make another lap. Loki walked what could have been the distance of several marathons. Really, with how quickly he was walking, he probably could have won a few in the process.

Because Loki's nerves were being eaten away by the thought of challenging Thor to a rematch, and he was considering every option to introduce the idea.

When he was making his 763rd round across the dining (feasting…drinking…) hall, he looked down to realize that he had been leaving scuff marks on the stonework the entire time. So now there was a thick mess of little black smudges that left evidence of his nerves.

Not long after this aggravating discovery, the monstrous door to the room groaned open and a chambermaid slipped into the room. She had a silver bucket tucked under one arm, and was precariously balancing the hot water inside.

Loki stopped pacing.

The maid looked up at him with stunning Asgardian-gold eyes before she realized who those eyes were looking at. She promptly set the bucket of water on the floor and settled into a deep, practiced bow.

"I'm sorry, Odinson. I did not realize that you were here. Otherwise I would not have approached you like this." She didn't come up from her bow for a while. Loki raised one eyebrow, gaining back his poise. The inflections of the chambermaid seemed unusual to Loki's ears. He was used to more – harsh tones. He was more accustomed now to a deeper, darker female voice that echoed through his nightmares. What he would have given in that moment for the chambermaid to be Krishna instead; the amount he would sacrifice even surprised him. Just for a visit from such a peculiar stranger?

Was she even a stranger anymore? Could he actually start considering her an acquaintance? But when this thought dawned on his mind, he realized that his inner self had already embraced her as a friend.

Interesting.

"You need not apologize," Loki said softly, taking another look at his scuff trail. "I assume you're here to clean the stonework?" Which, really, was a vocalization of 'I could have sworn these boots didn't scuff.'

"Of course." The maid picked up her bucket, tossed in the rag she was holding, and stood back straight to meet Loki's eyes. "My only job is to clean the floors in preparation for feasts."

"That's it? That's all you do?"

"There are many feasts held in this banquet hall. My work keeps me busy." Her voice sounded rejected, and she suddenly avoided making eye contact. He had struck an obvious nerve in her, but he was in no mood to feel compassionate enough to heal it. He was too busy, after all, casually examining the bottom of his shoes.

"If you were supposed to propose something ridiculously out of the ordinary," Loki's foot dropped back to the floor, and his eyes simultaneously shifted to look out among the throngs of shimmery buildings, "what would you do in preparation?" When he looked back at her, she had already gone to the floor with a rag.

"Honestly?" She swung her head back up to look at him, tossing back her golden, plaited hair. Loki wanted it to be black. And pinned back with a hairclip. "I would take a bath."

(To which Krishna would have added – "In that massive tub of yours that could fit a freaking whale.")

Loki only hummed in acknowledgement, a sure fire way to tell that the suggestion was appreciated – but he wasn't going to use it. And back his eyes went to the Asgard skyline.

"I think I'll only drink a glass of wine and think about my options." Loki replaced the idea of a bath with something more intellectual. Less tender and fleshy. He mulled on that thought for a bit before crossing the room. Toward the door. That way he could leave the chambermaid in peace to clean the floor, since he could do nothing but deny her.

"Be sure to clean over there." Loki struggled to find a proper way to phrase his instruction, so he waved his arm spastically in the general direction. "Over there. Before anyone comes in." Then he slipped out the door to go get a glass of wine.

But not, mind you, to take a bath.

Baths. Psh.

**xXxXx**

Loki swished his arms around in the bathwater. The movements shifted around the delicate little bubbles and they travelled on to different parts of the tub. Loki watched them sail adventurously across the surface of the unknown, only to burst within a few moments. Which, by the way, Krishna was completely right about his bathroom. It was fantastic. And the tub was huge.

Not really a tub.

More like a large, hollow space carved out from the dark green floor and filled with water. Why hadn't he ever taken the time to use it? He remembered as a youngling, when he would play with Thor until they were both matted with dirt, their mother would take them by their feet and force them into the bathing chambers, locking the door until they were both spotless (which usually ended up in huge waterfights between the two). But Loki hadn't actually gotten around to using his own personal bath house.

As much as he wanted to hate it-

It was fantastic.

Especially since he had a large goblet of wine sitting on the floor next to him. Wine made everything better.

Loki raised his hands, water running down his arms as they were exposed to the open air. He moved them smoothly in a pattern, and in front of him on the water's surface, a swirl of green magic twined together to form a glowing, beautiful shape. An elegant sailing ship with large fins. It illuminated a thin green light into the water around it. Loki gently set his fingers on the end of the magic apparition, and pushed it along through the water. It left gentle, hardly visible trails along the surface, and when it nearly reached the other end of the massive basin, it wisped away gently.

Time moved fluidly away from Loki as he lowered himself in the water, until only his face was above the surface. The weightlessness was calming. The water was cooling. And the wine took the bite away from his current situation.

How close was the feast? And how was he supposed to go about proclaiming a rematch? He thought that bathing might bring him a solution to these problems, but it only made him forget about them momentarily. Maybe that was all he needed.

Loki's stretch of empty nothingness was interrupted with a jolt when the door to his main bedroom was given several hard knocks. When the muffled vibrations met Loki's ears, his eyes fluttered open and he waited to be confronted.

"The feast is beginning, Loki!" It was Thor's voice that met his ears. Loki had to admit it was a much more pleasant voice when it was being suspended in water. If only he could find a way to dilute Thor's voice all the time…he could drown him. Ah. That would be nice. "Are you to join us?"

"Yes!" Loki called out. Allowing himself to shout shattered the peace and sent shards of it gliding on the water. "Give me some time to get ready!" The door sounded like it was being opened, and Loki gave a small squeak before crying, "_NO THOR, STAY OUT_!"

It shut again.

Loki grabbed the goblet of wine, downed its contents, and submerged himself completely in the water.

**xXxXx**

To the feast Loki went. More like to his eternal doom. Like he was going from death row to the executioner's pedestal. And he hardly even noticed the disgusting amount of food and the horrifying manner of eating this time around. He was too busy deciding how he was going to approach his execution.

Was he going to go elegantly, or did he want to rush into it with his pants off?

Jesting.

Loki would never do anything with his pants off.

(Also the main reason he stayed away from alcohol as much as he could. He didn't stomach it the way the others did and it had a serious impact on his behavior. The last thing he needed was to wake up with people telling stories of his pantless actions the night before.) Finicky as he'd ever been, Loki prodded around his feasting plate with his fork, shoving the food around until it was an unidentifiable mess. The court eating around him was like a massive instrument, and whenever it quieted in the slightest, someone would reach out and pluck the strings back into life. Loki was left following along with this clashing melody, trying to pick apart the pieces of his thoughts.

"My, Odinson." Loki jolted out of his thoughts when he realized that the phrase was angled toward him. He glanced over to his right side to see one of the ladies of court leaned over next to him. Her nose was hovering over his shoulder. "You smell wonderful."

"Does he?" Another girl piped in, one with fire red hair that extended to her waist. She also leaned over to smell him. "Oh, he does! Loki, what did you do to smell so divine?" Loki didn't really answer. All he was doing was watching them with wide eyes as they took in the aroma of his shoulder.

Maybe he should take scented baths more often.

But, eventually, the ladies settled back into quiet chat among themselves and Loki was left again to his own devices. The way he liked it in situations like this. Though, he had to admit, that he could get used to the ladies of the court being attracted to his scent.

It was a pleasant variation from them always being attracted to Thor's brawn. Idiotic attraction, that was. If only someone was attracted to Loki for his intellect and magic. And when he pursued after that thought, he realized that there was one.

Fricking Krishna getting into his fricking brain and fricking messing with him even when she wasn't fricking there.

Loki had the sudden urge to stand up and flip the table over. But he didn't want to strain any of his muscles trying. So he kept seated and only muddled in his little pool of hatred against the girl that kept his thoughts so preoccupied. And where was she, anyway? What if she was just outside the door? Loki tried to turn around and look, but his shoulder (the one that obviously smelled divine) was gripped in one of Thor's hands and he was turned around.

"What a magnificent feast this has turned out to be!" Thor exclaimed toward Loki. His voice carried over everyone else's. And Loki was back on thoughts of drowning him. "Wouldn't you say, brother? I like feasts such as this. But I like the larger ones better, don't you?"

"How much mead have you ingested?" Loki asked sullenly.

"I think I should be asking you the same, though I probably know the answer. Really, Loki, a cup of mead might be good for you." Thor patted him (more like slapped him) again on the shoulder, and it sent Loki's lungs reeling.

"A cup of it, perhaps." Loki was still gaining back his breath. "But you seem to drink barrels of it."

"It isn't like it affects me much." Thor retorted.

"It does for me." Loki snapped back.

"Fair enough." There was a distinct pause as Thor looked over the miniscule amount of food on Loki's large dinner plate. "You should eat more." Loki scoffed loudly.

"Can't you just leave me to make my own decisions? Really, you're starting to sound like Mother." Loki sneered, taking a moment to glance from the side of his eye to his plate. Thor also considered what he had said.

"_MOTHER_!" Thor suddenly declared toward the end of the table. There was a 'thunk' when Loki's head slammed down where there was a gap in the food. And the entire room went drop-dead silent to listen to what used to be a semi-private conversation. "You must tell Loki to eat more!"

"Eat more, Loki." Was all that came back. Loki tipped his head back up to look at his mother, smirked, and then he slammed his head back down.

"You know what? No." Thor descended into silence as Loki suddenly stood up and held his goblet into the air. "The entire court has already gone silent, I might as well use the time." And he took one utensil to clash against the reverberating metal. "EVERYONE LISTEN!" They were already listening, but Loki always wanted to say that.

"Loki, what is it that you're getting at?" Thor asked quietly, a smile working gingerly over his tanned face.

"Today's feast," Loki began, his voice echoing through the grand room. "Falls within the two week period since the last. And I, Loki Odinson, take this opportunity…" What was he getting himself into? Maybe he could only turn it into a toast and save himself the humiliation. But suddenly he felt like someone… else… was watching him. Fricking Krishna. "I take this opportunity to declare an official rematch against my brother, Thor!"

There was a long stretch of silence.

And then the room exploded into jeers of laughter.

Loki could feel his ears warming, and he wanted to sit back down and cover his face. But something was keeping him on his feet to stand his ground. And, after letting the court settle down from their laughter, a suggestion was hurled his way by Volstagg.

"Loki, your rematch proposition has brought you great honor," there were a few snickers. "And now you may sit down with all your dignity in tact." Loki's knees shook only slightly. How much he wanted to listen to that offer, sit down, and try to forget about the laughter. But he couldn't.

"I am completely serious." Loki sneered. "And as one of the two royal brothers, you must take my challenge as so." A sort of new strength only slightly raised in his voice. "Are there any other objections to my declaration?"

The court was silent, most of them looking down at their laps and holding back a smile. Loki's heartbeat pounded in his ears, and his face still felt warm.

"If my younger brother wants a rematch," Thor said slowly, raising to his feet and placing one hand on Loki's shoulder. "Then we should allow him the courtesy of a rematch." Loki turned his head to give Thor a small, nervous smile, and Thor gave a reassuring (but worried for Loki's sake) smile back. Then he turned to the court and proclaimed, "We will duel tonight! Before the two week period is at its end!"

That was when Loki allowed himself to sit down. It felt like someone had just punched him in the stomach. No, it felt like he had punched himself in the stomach.

A rematch against his brute of a brother that very night. What had he gotten himself into?

And at least, he noticed, the scuff marks on the floor were gone.

**xXxXx**


	9. That is MY Token

_**Author's note:** *singsonging* **Hello, readers!** Welcome back! I hope you've all been good! Here's the next chapter, and as much as I thought I liked the last one, this one is my new favorite. _

_It's really dark and sad, and Loki bleeds from the lungs, _

_and then suddenly a WILD FLUFF APPEARS! Well, a Loki kind of fluff._

_So, yush. :3 This is officially the first fluff moment of the story. I hope you all like it as much as I do. I'm as giddy about this story as you are. xD _

_Yes, the review button is fixed and I'm glad it isn't biting anymore. But it still requires a little more training to get it used to the good behavior. So give it a poke, if you have the time. Thank you from the bottom of my heart and soul. I wouldn't be anything without my support. _

* * *

**TO THE STORY! RAH!**

* * *

"Loki?" The voice jolted Loki out of his nerves and made him flip around to look behind him. Sif was standing there, with a very bitter look painted on her face. But there was something glistening in her eyes, almost concern for the nerve-stricken young man in front of her.

Loki gave an exasperated sigh and turned back around to look at his hands.

The Lady Sif had black hair.

But it wasn't the black hair that Loki was so anxious to see.

"What is it, then, Sif?" Loki twirled a few thin strands of green magic around his fingers. "I am to duel in a matter of moments. You know that, I suppose?" He could hear her feet shifting, and the elegant metal plates adorning her body as they slid near each other. And before he knew it, she was crouching down next to him on the golden bench. One of her thin hands rested on his shoulder.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" She didn't really ask the question sympathetically. In fact, it was almost like she didn't want to talk to him at all. She had obviously placed her bets in a particular direction and it wasn't his. So Loki shrugged her hand away from him and continued twirling magic.

"Yes." He said simply. The less words he had to say, the better. She stood up, obviously having felt rejected enough to leave him in peace. While she walked away, Loki could hear her say –

"The others are waiting for you in the square. Come quickly."

Loki's nose wrinkled up, " 'Come quickly'." He mocked quietly. "'Come quickly to get your face caved in, Loki.' 'Come quickly to your execution, Loki.' 'Come quickly to have your boot shoved in your nose, Loki'." Which he then followed up with, "Bleh…" And once he fell back into silence, he realized how Krishna-ish he just sounded. It made him miss her even more. He didn't want to miss her, though, because she was just another stupid girl. Krishna must have looked at him as a stuck-up Prince of Asgard. What did she even want with him, The Messenger of Karma? What did he do to have her Gods – whoever they were – send her to him? He hadn't done anything malicious enough to be disemboweled.

Then again, Krishna would probably disembowel him at any chance she could.

If he dropped something on her foot, perhaps, he could say goodbye to all his inner organs.

Loki ran his hands down his face, and peeked through his fingers at the hairclip resting next to him on the bench._ No, my bad,_ Loki thought, _Token. Not a hairclip. Token. I would rather have Krishna's scarf. _She had a nice scarf._ I wouldn't mind tying that to my waist. _

Even though he was feeling angry at this hairclip (and he was very close to scolding it, mind you), he picked it up gently and looked at it in the dulling light. It reflected the beautiful colors of the nearest torch, bouncing off each hue in a darker sense. Loki held it up in the air and looked around the empty pavilion.

"See, Krishna, you little sneaking parasite?" He spit out, half of him hoping that she wasn't there at all, and the other half realizing that she probably was. "I'm putting your ridiculous token on my clothing!" He pulled it open, hesitated, and then clamped it to his collar where everyone would be able to see it. Then he slammed his head into his knees, and the flips at the end of his hair shook.

That was when he heard her.

She _snorted._

He would know that snort from a mile away, and that was Krishna's snort. His head snapped up and he looked around suspiciously in the pavilion. He stood up, brushed off his arms, and adjusted the hairclip.

"You'd better save your laughter for later, devil woman." Loki pointed in a random direction, then another. "If I lose this thing, you are the first one I'm coming after. I will strangle you with my bare hands." And with those oh-so-inspiring words of wisdom, Loki began strutting down toward the square.

If he was going to get his face caved in, he might as well do it with style.

* * *

**xXxXx**

* * *

Loki skipped around to avoid another skull-crushing punch from Thor. The crowd cheered immensely at his display of finesse. But what they would have called 'finesse', Loki would have called 'running for his life.' And what Loki would have called 'running for his life,' Krishna would have called 'being a stupid little pansy.'

Loki wiped his nose with the end of his sleeve, praying that it wasn't bloody, but too busy to check. He was crouched ever so slightly, keeping Thor in his line of vision. He was trying hard to block out the screaming of the court, and their waving arms as they cheered on their favored side.

Thor had successfully landed two punches, one to Loki's face and the other squarely to his ribs. While this would have seemed carnal and primitive for Asgard, duels were a cherished part of the culture. Particularly between the two Royal Brothers.

Loki once again donned his inner pansy and jumped away from Thor's shoulder as it hurtled for him. Right after getting away from one of many sticky moments, Loki tried again to conjure some magic. He ran his hands through the air rhythmically, but the second Thor caught sight of the green trails, he acted. Thor tackled Loki to the cobblestone before he could finish the magic incantation.

Being thrown to the ground sent Loki's lungs reeling, and he tried desperately to gather some sort of breath before Thor came at him again.

"Come on, brother!" Thor laughed, looking at his arm where one of Loki's daggers had grazed him. The court was screaming at him to get to his feet. If Loki stayed down for more than five counts, the match would be called. And if the match was called, that meant the entertainment would be over. So the crowd screamed.

Loki turned over on to his hands and knees. He retched violently, his back arching up, and a decent amount of blood came from his lungs to spread through his mouth. The metallic, bitter taste made him retch again, which only brought more with it. Loki spit out as much as he could. Then, as he scrambled dizzily back to his feet, he swallowed the rest and wiped his mouth.

The court cheered.

Their night of entertainment wasn't over after all. Loki wanted so desperately for it to be finished. His brother was a war vixen. There wasn't going to be any backing down from him. So Loki would have to remain vigilant and try to stick it through. Several a maiden's handkerchief was tied to Thor's apparel. Loki reached up instinctively and touch his own token, and it had never been so much appreciated by him than at that moment.

Loki kept a few words on loop through his mind: Intelligence, trickery, fluency. But whenever Loki tried to do something magical, he was interrupted violently. So before he could do the magic, he realized, he would have to stop the interruptions. Using trickery and intelligence.

Loki took a moment to look down at his palms. So his nose had been bleeding after all, and he wiped it all over his hands. He could use that to his advantage.

"Please, brother," Loki begged, hunching over and holding one bloody hand out to stop Thor. "Please stop your brutal retreats for one moment. Let me delay my loss." Thor's eyes were locked on the blood drizzling down Loki's hand. It was snaking down in thick droplets, twisting around his thin fingers and dripping to the stone.

And while Thor was distracted by the injuries, Loki's other hand was behind his back, busily twisting and forming several green twines of magic. When they grew enough for Thor to see them, he became enraged by Loki's trickery and lumbered forward to assault him.

Loki threw the magic twines forward, and they gripped themselves over Thor's eyes to obstruct his vision. He cried out and stumbled back for only a moment. It didn't stop him from barreling toward Loki, who had momentarily run out of tricks.

So what else was Loki to do?

He quickly unclipped Krishna's hairclip from his collar and attached it firmly to Thor's nose with a 'snap.'

The scream he gave was priceless.

Thor stumbled back, trying to simultaneously free his eyes of the magic twine and release the clip from his nose. Loki immediately took the opportunity to kick Thor in the chest. The solid 'thunk' sent the massive older brother crashing to the cobblestone, and before anyone could register the attack – Loki was pointing the flaming end of a torch at Thor's face.

"Stay down," Loki hissed. The flames licked up his arm, but he ignored them in the midst of his upperhand. Drops of blood fell into the fire and sizzled out of existence. "And that," he reached down and yanked Krishna's hairclip from Thor's nose, attaching it back to his collar, "is _my _token." Thor had successfully freed one eye from the sticky magic, and closed it, gasping for breath as he rested his head on the ground.

The gathered court had gone silent. Most of them were holding their hands to their mouths and staring at Loki's bloody, flame-illuminated face. When the initial shock had worn off, Loki was surprised when the whole square burst into cheers.

The same people who had been laughing at him earlier that night.

"That's five counts!" Volstagg's voice was the only one that could be heard over the screaming. He ran in to slap one massive hand onto Loki's back. Which sent his lungs reeling again and brought with it another retch. "What a surprise it is that Loki Odinson has come out victorious!" A few more cheers, and they were cheering just for the sake of something different to happen. Not because Loki had won. "That brings us to the end of our two-parted duel!"

That was the only thing needed for the crowd to press in on Thor. Most of them were his fangirls, maidens that had given him tokens. Now they were completely unsettled, throwing their hands in the air and pulling at their hair. Thor, being the ladies man he was, tried to comfort them in the calmest way he could. (While, of course, rubbing his sore nose).

Loki twirled up the torch and set it back in its holder. No one had approached him, they were all too busy swarming in their groups and talking fervently over what they had just witnessed. Loki swept his eyes over them all, and his eyeline suddenly met with one who was looking right back at him from the edge of the crowd. With steely gray eyes.

Krishna's midnight black hair was concealed in a hood, and when she caught Loki's gaze, a smile danced around her eyes.

Loki reached up to unclip her token. When he looked back up, she was gone. He flailed his arms and looked right, then left before sighing.

"One day…" He wiped off his nose again, and looked down at the mess of red blood. "I'm going to slaughter her for all this disappearing."

* * *

**xXxXx**

* * *

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, TURN, one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, TURN. Loki counted the steps that he rushed up, making sure not to drop the hairclip. The entire palace was empty. Even the chambermaids were down in the square. This made Loki feel like he had a right to sprint as fast as he could down the hallway. Since, of course, there was no one there to reprimand him. So sprint he did. And it felt remarkably fantastically rebellious.

He skidded to a stop when he reached the grand hallway, and then sprinted again for his chambers. When he reached the doors, he threw them open and thrust himself inside, letting them close behind him. Then he pressed himself against them and glared around the empty room.

Because a black feather was placed delicately at his feet.

And he knew she was there.

What did those stupid black feathers even mean? Was it her way of announcing her presence? Whatever. He was picking up on the fact that they meant she was around him. So he kept glaring at his room.

"KrishnaLan…?" He slipped his shoes off carefully, his feet aching and the cold stone feeling relatively relaxing on his pained muscles. Then he snuck carefully across the floor, setting her hairclip down on his massive bed. He craned his neck to peer into the bathroom. "Krish…?" But no one was there to greet him. "Traitorous little girl…"

Suddenly, the back of his head was smacked sharply.

"ARGH!" Loki exclaimed, rearing around to face his attacker. Krishna was crouched next to him on one of the table-like furniture pieces, grinning beautifully from ear to ear. Loki hadn't really seen her smile like that before. He'd seen her smile devilishly and mischievously, but never just happily. Her eyes curved elegantly, and in them swirled around a sense of pride.

Pride for… pride for _Loki?_

"Argh," Loki mumbled again, rubbing the back of his head. "What on Asgard drove you to do th-?"

But Krishna suddenly, very out of the blue, jumped off the table and held both of Loki's hands in her own. She dragged him to the middle of the floor, and then spun him around. He stumbled at first, struggled to gain proper footing, and then had no other choice but to spin with her. Otherwise his face would say 'hello' to the hard ground.

"You won!" Krish exclaimed, skidding to a stop and leaving Loki's head whirling. Her voice sent chills up his spine.

In a good way.

He hoped.

"I saw everything! You were so brilliant!" She put both of her hands on the sides of Loki's head. He watched her carefully. The feeling in the pit of his stomach strummed back to life. "I knew you had it in that head of yours to kick Thor's trash."

"Kick Thor's trash?" Loki asked slowly. "I… I don't understand what that means." Krish tipped her head down and Loki found himself tipping with her to gain a better view of that interesting smile. It was starting to infect his own face.

Krish looked back up. She sucked her mouth in, holding back whatever emotions were being bridled back inside those glossy gray eyes. Loki put his hands on Krishna's (which were still holding his ears) and waited for whatever reaction she was going to give him.

He wouldn't put it past her to randomly slap him again.

For one terrifying moment, he thought she was going to.

But she did something completely the opposite. She wrapped her arms around his thin, pained torso and hugged him. His arms were left hovering in the air as he tried to process this new information. It wasn't a delicate hug, nor was it very elegant, but it made something shift in the way he viewed her.

"Brilliant." She muttered again, pulling away from him. Her expression was complicated now. Partially conflicted, pained. Like she shouldn't have hugged him at all. Like she was defying something. Someone. Because something had shifted in her, too. But she didn't expect it to, and it wasn't supposed to.

"Krishna," Loki took her hands in his own again and swung them back and forth to lighten the mood. Two pairs of delicate, pale hands that fit together like clockwork. For some reason, the contact made Loki forget about the entire duel. She laughed softly as he kept swinging them with a deadpan face.

Only Loki could pull that off.

"There's going to be a feast held in my honor, there always is after things like this. And since I won, I get to decide the specifics of it. I'm going to make it a dinner instead of a feast. Fancy clothing and the like."

"Hum." Krishna was bored already, looking out into the Asgard sky. "Interesting. No, actually." She looked at him again. "That's not interesting at all."

"AND, as one of the court I have the right to bring any companion with me." Followed up with him muttering, "It's not very smiled upon for me to bring someone, but when have I ever done anything to be smiled upon, right? The court is used to frowning at me anyway."

"I'm not good at dining with people. In general." Krishna pulled her hands out of Loki's and held them behind her back. Her gaze dropped down to the floor.

"Neither am I."

"I don't have anything fancy to wear." She shuffled for any other excuse, and Loki could tell she was running low.

"This is Asgard. And I'm the son of the king." Loki raised one eyebrow. "I think I can find you something to wear." She was considering the offer. Being completely exposed to the entire court, to Odin. Something to be stared at like she was foreign and undesirable. No more sneaking around. Recognition. "Besides," Loki continued, "I'm sick of you randomly appearing on my balcony. And Sif's already seen you turning tables over in the hallway. I want to spite her."

"In my defense," Krishna held one hand up in the air, "They were the smaller tables without the vases on them." Loki kept his eyebrow in the air. "Okay, so some of them had vases on them." He looked at her suspiciously. "Okay, fine. They all had vases on them."

"Are you to join me?" Loki asked, snagging her hands back into his own.

"Loki, are you asking me out?" She asked slowly, her eyes narrowing and a smirk edging over her mouth. "Are you asking my permission to court me?" His eyebrows came together.

"Well, yes." He said simply.

Like she should have known already.

She bit her bottom lip, keeping the smirk on her face as she continued swinging their hands back and forth. Loki could see the pain and controversy still edging around her face, but she seemed to be repressing it like the little rebel she was. She punched him in the shoulder. And while he was grimacing, she reached up with the hand that wasn't holding his and wiped some dried blood from his nose.

"Then you'd better find me something to wear."


	10. Playing Homicidal Dress Up

_**Author's Note: **I'm a little behind on private messaging you each individually, but I promise I'm gonna get back to it! And soon! My hands have been itching to write personal messages to y'all._

_ I've been uber busy recently with busy sauce on top. But aside from my schedule, I bring to you the next chapter! I think they just become my favorite with each new installment! _

_I think Krishna would be HONORED to know an iPod was named in her honor. I know I am. xD And let's PRAY it doesn't behave like her. Or you might find yourself shanked in the middle of the night. xD _

_Thank you all so much for the feedback. The reviews, the follows, the everything. It makes me fluttery just thinking about it. I couldn't have ever asked for such positive traction. :)_

**A random patch of sea turtles have become stranded in the Sahara Desert (Don't ask me how, it just happened)(probably Loki's doing, that little brat). Each review saves one, yes? ;)**

* * *

**TO THE STORY! Normal POV**

* * *

"Okay…" Krishna's grimacing was accompanied by her gripping onto the edge of the massive vanity. "That's…that's tight…" But the hand-servant didn't seem to register Krish's plea at all. (The chambermaid heard her, oh, she heard her. But decided to do nothing about it.) The servant only gave another yank (earning a whimper from Krish) and began tying the ribbon of the corset.

"No," Loki was standing over by the wall, rubbing one hand over his chin thoughtfully. "No, pull it tighter."

Krishna looked under one of her arms to send Loki a searing glare with her set of neon eyes. "_Tighter_?" She hissed darkly. "I'm sorry to burst your bubble, Loki," no she wasn't, "but my organs are already compressed as much as they're going to be."

"You're still breathing," Loki said monotonously, his bubble obviously still very-not-burst.

"Through some sort of divine intervention, yes."

"So it isn't compressing your lungs, now is it?" He cocked his head to one side, plastered a smile on his face (a really creepy one, mind you) and widened his eyes. The glare Krishna gave him could have been lethal. Selling a bottled up Krishna glare to a terrorist could be the death of humanity. It was enough, at least, to push Loki to rummage up enough pity to command the hand-servant out of the room. The very moment the servant had bowed and scuttled away, Krishna reached to her back in a desperate attempt to free herself of the corset (deathtrap).

She went back behind the golden folding-screen muttering a chain of obscenities. Before long, the dress she had been wearing was cast over the screen in a mess of fabric. It laid, crumpled and rejected, in a white heap at Loki's feet. He picked it up and set it on the vanity. Particularly, in the pile Krish had lovingly dubbed "The Discard Pile," (followed by her kicking it a few times). A pile that was growing in size as the options dwindled.

"I_ hate_ that color, white." Krishna spat from the other side of the folding screen.

"Then pray tell what colors you don't hate, you picky leech." Instead of giving a decent response to Loki's partial-insult, Krishna only poked her head over the screen with narrowed eyes.

"Have you gone to the healers, yet?" She ask-sneered.

"I don't need to," he replied. One of Krishna's delicate eyebrows arched into her forehead. "My injuries weren't sustainable enough to require the healer's care. Just some magic. And we're not here to talk about the duel."

"I wasn't talking about the duel. I was talking about your massacred nose. It was bleeding like no one's business." She vanished behind the ornate temporary wall. "Like a horror movie, almost." Loki didn't get the reference, but he assumed it was bloody.

"Colors, KrishnaLan." Loki despised finding a dress for anyone, really. Krish was the last person he wanted to play dress-consultant for. As much as it seemed impossible, though, Krish hated the whole ordeal even more than he did.

_Pants._ Pants were her clothing of choice, thank you very much. If it hadn't have been a dress to be seen by the entire board of royalty, you couldn't have even _paid_ Krish to put one of those… _things_… on her body. Loki was beginning to feel like it didn't matter anyway. For the entire morning, they'd been up to their knees in dresses. It was slowly starting to acclimate to their waists, and Krishna hadn't found anything even relatively pretty. So the dress tide was coming in, and they were on a dead-lock to be swept under the current. 'Colors' was the only crutch Loki had to lean on.

Krishna had obliterated all his other crutches.

"I don't know," Her arms flailed above the screen. "Why don't you choose one with _your_ favorite colors, Loki?" Her voice was edgy, she was exhausted, and Loki could tell she was becoming aggravated. Those were three things he did NOT want to be a factor when dealing with an absolute loon like her. Best case scenario: She set the dresses on fire. Worst (and most likely) case scenario: she set HIM on fire and threw him out the window.

Which sent him spiraling among thoughts of how he would look to the people on the grounds. ("And that, dear, is the Prince of Asgard on fire falling out a window. What's that? Oh, no, he's the younger brother. No one cares about him.")

Loki, trying to avoid pouting at his most recent depressing thought, slid a dress out of the pile and tossed it over in a cascade of black, green and gold. Krishna dropped the dress, cussed, and then there was a considerable pause before she said –

"It's a corset dress."

-in the most dejected manner she could.

Loki sighed and brought one hand up to rest his head on. He hoped to offer one last ray of hope in saving the morning with, "I can assist you with the strings." In an equally dejected voice. He rested his head a little farther down, waiting for Krish to throw the dress again and ignore his final try at salvaging the day. There was a lengthy stretch of time without Krishna saying anything, leaving Loki to pick at his thumb and wait for the inevitable.

When she came out from behind the screen, Loki stopped picking at his thumb long enough to look up at her. He did a double-take.

And then he didn't really know what to do in that situation. So he tried to stand up, nearly knocking over and scrambling to catch a vase in the process. Then, when Krishna gave him a 'WTF are you doing?' look, Loki cleared his throat and stood up straighter. He shoved the vase behind the seat with his foot.

The dress wasn't particularly special; it was a corset-style black dress that had ribbons of gold and green adorning the top. They crossed over the front to hook around in the back and intertwine with the corset strings. Then it flaired out from there, into an organized mess of knee-length fabric strips. Green and black and gold strips, just extending to her knees in a fluid swarm. She inched toward the full length mirror, and when she walked, her pale knees peeked out from the forest of fabric.

Loki could tell she wasn't used to dresses. The undone corset strings turned to face him as Krishna rotated slowly to look in the mirror and examine her appearance. The first time Loki had ever seen her so timid was in that moment. It was like the entire existence around them melted away and it was just Krish, that dress, and the mirror. (Loki wasn't even involved in it anymore. Story of his life.) She ran her hands over the layered strips of fabric that made up the skirt, slowly feeling up the ridged corset, all made up of expensive fabrics.

After she had tried on floor-length gown after floor-length gown, extravagant designs and grand systems of jewels, this short dress seemed… Krishna. She turned around and looked at her exposed calves, still holding the undone corset up to her body. Loki, who was standing behind her, rubbed the back of his neck.

"I think, uh," Loki paused, keeping a remarkably straight face, "In my opinion, at least, if you want it…"

"It'll be nicer if someone helps me do up the strings." Krishna interrupted him before he could gush any more. Her cheeks were already flushing from wearing the dress, she didn't need compliments to make them burn. She looked down at the ground to her bare feet and shins.

Loki reached out and took the strings, tying them through each of the holes and weaving them between one another. Krishna pulled her hair forward, out of his way. And even though there was a silence between them, it was peaceful and somehow warm. At least, warm and peaceful in the sense that Krishna wasn't making it her mission to stab him. Or poke him. Or scar him mentally (which she did a lot). Or disembowel him or decapitate him or impale him or skin him. With all those variables taken out of the way, Krish was remarkably calm. Even beautiful.

If only she wasn't trying to stab, poke, scar, disembowel, decapitate, impale, or skin him – he could get used to her presence.

"You're ridiculously slender." Loki commented. Krish tipped her head up and looked at him in the mirror, dressed in his own extravagant garb that accented his own stick-like frame.

"You don't have a right to be talking about my weight, hypocrite." She whispered. Loki gave the strings a strong pull and met her gaze.

"Is it hurting you?" He asked simply.

"No." Krishna shook her head, keeping her hair pulled forward and out of his way. She even started braiding it around her fingers menially.

"Trust," Loki suddenly said in a darkened tone of voice. It was so dark, it made Krishna stop her braiding and stare wide-eyed at the floor, "is something that I don't freely give to others. It's secret, stored away within deep caverns in my soul. For some reason, and I haven't discovered that reason yet, you've managed to access those caverns." He yanked on the corset strings, making Krishna grip to the vanity again. "Is it hurting you?"

She shook her head, letting her eyes trail up to the mirror to look at him.

"Betrayal is what constantly threatens to burn its way into those caverns. Now that they're open, exposed and tender as a nerve, I fear that betrayal will fill the void of lost trust." Loki yanked the corset strings again with a tense jaw. Krishna closed her eyes. "Is it hurting you?"

She shook her head.

"I do not take betrayal well. And if someone, at any given point in time, feels the need to betray me, I will make their life hell. None are excluded from that threat, no age or race or culture." He wrapped the corset ribbons around his hand and pulled them again. Krishna clenched her jaw and her knuckles started to go white. "Is it hurting you?"

She hesitated this time, only for a moment, before shaking her head.

"When you broke through those caverns, you brought with you something more than trust. It's been tearing at me, eating me away, dissolving all of my tissues, and left me suffering. It's also kept me on my knees, and I find myself begging for more." Loki said quietly. Krishna's eyes fluttered open. "I haven't experienced that kind of affection for someone I was hardly accustomed to before. All I know is that I'm constantly waiting for the next opportunity to inject it into my bloodstream." He hesitated as well, and then gave the corset another tight pull. Krishna cried out, her hands flew to her stomach to grip at the corset. "Is it hurting you?"

"Yes!" Krishna gasped, her fingers tearing at the fabric. But before she could do much else about it, Loki's face was lowered next to her ear as he kept the ribbons tight. And, with a suddenly changed voice, something soft and delicate, sympathetic and sweet, he whispered-

"Me too."

He let go of the ribbons, tucked his hand underneath them, and eased them away from Krishna's back. She took a deep breath when her lungs were given enough room. Then Loki tied a bow on the back and turned her around to face him. Krishna looked up into his face with confusion, pain, not knowing whether she should have burst into tears, shoved him away, or hugged him. So she just stood there and looked at his expressionless face. How was it, though, that such lack of expression could express so much?

"You look fine." He said when she started becoming self-conscious again, when she peeked around to look back in the mirror. He stepped away from her, like nothing had happened, "Give it a turn."

Krishna watched the fabric flair out around her as she rotated on her heels. It danced around her thighs, exposed her knees, and then fell back down in shredded waves to rest against her skin. Then she tipped her head to look at Loki for approval.

He nodded. "I'm fond of the colors." He said slowly. Krishna stood straight and narrowed her eyes. Her hands slowly went to rest on her rigid, corseted hips. "What brilliant, handsome, intelligent person picked out those colors?"

"Where's that vase you were struggling with earlier?" Krishna flipped around to look for it. Loki's eyes widened and he pushed it farther under the chair. "I'm going to break it on your skull."

* * *

**xXxXx**

* * *

Aaand, Loki was back to the nervous pacing thing. Mind, in the good shoes that didn't scuff. In fact, he was all decked out in his most formal wear; the whole deal with the strips of metal over his abdomen, the green cape cascading over his shoulders and down his back, and the helmet with the horns. Nomatter how many times he wore that thing, it was still always unnervingly heavy. It also made his pacing only a tad bit slower, because he didn't want to accidentally trip and stab himself. Better safe than sorry (and bleeding profusely all over the floor).

He was pacing because Krishna hadn't appeared on his balcony yet. Already three times he'd been called for from the dining hall, and Loki had to make up a new excuse every time. He was running low on excuses. Hopefully he hadn't scared Krishna off with the ordeal in the vanity suite.

The very second that thought kicked his brain (which was hurting enough from the helmet), the girl jumped over the railing and landed effortlessly on the stone balcony. The very first thing Loki said to her was-

"You're not wearing the dress," He looked over her simple salwar kameez: a black, knee-length shirt with green and gold inflated pants underneath. Her bare feet chimed with trinkets as she walked toward him, pulling up her hair into a super-tight ponytail that slicked it away from her face. Then she slid a golden leaf clip over the band (no doubt a piece stolen from some unsuspecting Asgard citizen).

"You're right," She stopped short of him, looking him almost head-on. "I was never going to, actually. They can take me how I am." What a very Krishna thing to say. Paired perfectly with her arrogant attitude and confident strut.

"You don't think it's a little casual?" Though he had to give the outfit some credit. It set off her skin and painted arms perfectly. Maybe Loki was just a little bit biased, though, for pale skin.

"I wore my anklets!" Krishna justified, sticking one foot in the air for emphasis and then stumbling back. Balance wasn't really her niche. "That's fancy enough! And I wore your colors! What do I have to do for you to be happy with me?" Her eyes made contact with the sturdy golden horns on his head. "Ooh. Shiny..." She reached up slightly, extending her nimble fingers to try to slick them over the helmet. He slapped her hand away.

"You're late," It was like he was checking things off a list to yell at her for. "They've called for me - us - three times now."

"Why, Loki." Krishna sauntered forward, clasping her hands behind her back. "You weren't afraid that I wasn't going to show for our date, were you?" He narrowed one eye and a smirk worked over his mouth.

"Not a date."

"Last time I checked, a date was a few intimate friends taking time out to eat. So if this isn't a date, I would love you to tell me what it is." Krishna was smirking because she knew she was right, and she knew Loki knew it too - which was pretty much the best feeling ever. It wasn't too often you got to best Loki.

"Well, that's the catch, isn't it?" Loki's smirk was practically permanent at that point. "We aren't friends."

There was a miniature staredown between them. The birds nesting above the balcony seemed to peer into the room before they fluttered away in sheer terror.

"Still a date."

"Call it whatever makes you feel best." Loki held out one arm to offer her, and she took it graciously by slipping her arm through his and holding to the crook of his elbow. When they started to walk across the floor, however, Krishna's knees buckled and she cried out as she fell to the ground. She brushed herself off, stood back up, and took Loki's arm again.

"Don't say anything about it," Krish threatened with the way she inflected her tone, "I just climbed up a billion and a half balconies. It's a miracle my legs have worked_ this_ far."

"After tonight, there'll be no more climbing up balconies for you." Loki said as he opened the door for her to slip out into the hallway.

"You think they'll accept me, Loki?" She said as he closed the door to his chambers. He turned to look at her, standing there all exposed in the evening time. She brushed off the bottom of her shirt nervously and then looked back up to meet his gaze, wringing her hands.

He chuckled lightly and offered his arm again. "I don't think they've even accepted me yet." and they were off down the hallway with Loki's cape swishing behind to follow them up.

"We can be outcasts together." Krish put her other hand on Loki's arm and rested her head on his shoulder as they walked. "The awesome outcasts. Everyone else would be missing out on the sheer amazingness."

"The sheer green, black, and gold amazingness." Loki repeated. Krish smiled when he used her word. "Tell you what, Krishna," her smile only deepened when he said her name, revealing the minor dimple on the left side of her face. "I think I prefer the way you dressed after all."

"I'm walking down a hallway with the _God of Mischief and Magic_." Krishna said in soft disbelief.

"You're about to suffer through a dinner with him, too."


	11. Behave? No, thank you

_**Author's Note: (**And I'll keep it short, because this chapter is long...) I am FLOORED that you all love the story this far! The reviews... I think the reviews actually legit made me tear up just a little.(But tell no one that I told you that...) I never expected for anyone to enjoy my writing so much, and I'm flattered. I don't know in what other way I would be able to thank you all. You should all expect super long, very thought out messages from me. I think that, and new chapter updates, are the only way I can repay you. _

_You all, through your reviews, saved 12597 sea turtles. And gave them all proper medical care. (Wow, Loki got a lot of those out in the desert, eh?) _

_(PS) I actually have pet rats, too. Two of them. ;) _

_AND! **Dark Mind of the American Teen** did some wonderful fan art of Krish and Loki. I was completely blown away. You should go to her deviantart and check it out. Fan-freakin-tastic, to me! _

_Enjoy the long chapter! Tell me what you think! _

* * *

**RAHHH!**

* * *

The hallways of the palace were much larger than Krishna thought they would be. After they had crossed six intersections, descended three flights of stairs (then ascended one after Loki relapsed with "No. Wait. Wrong way."), and gone down at least 12 corridors, Krish got sick of it. Being the excruciatingly impatient girl she was, she strayed away from Loki's arm to go pick over the stuff on the walls. When one of the heavy bronze artifacts clattered to the floor, Loki implemented the rule that she couldn't touch _anything _at all.

Well, that didn't work for Krishna.

So Loki told her she could only touch things with one finger. She obeyed that rule with strict vigilance – when Loki was looking. For the most part, no serious damage was done (that crystal display goblet wasn't important to anyone anyway), and Krish figured that things are stupid if you can't touch them.

Occasionally, Loki would slow and turn around, waiting for her to catch up before they moved on, and he couldn't help but feel like she was a stray animal following him around strictly for the purpose of food. Which only made him wonder if the whole thing started because he fed her on his balcony. Which, in retrospect, made it entirely his fault. Because she had made well on her threat of coming back.

After Krishna declared "I'M BORED." very loudly to several empty hallways, and a few not-empty hallways, Loki decided he needed to break the silence. Keep her occupied. That way she didn't have the desire to go off and kill someone for the sake of ridding herself of boredom.

"What do the paintings on your arms mean? What significance do they hold?" Loki clasped his hands behind his back since Krishna wasn't there to occupy his arm. That left him feeling relatively bare. Krishna skipped up to him at this new question, intrigued a little herself when she stretched out her arms for him to see the 'paint' better.

They were beautiful, earthy brown henna patterns. A system of interlocking flowers and designs that grew red around the edges, and even faded in certain sections to wispy locks of paint. Loki looked at them for a little longer than he thought he would while they walked, and nearly slammed face-first into a pillar.

"They aren't paintings _on_ my skin. It _is_ my skin. Henna. It extends up my arms and wraps over my back. And then it's on the bottom of my feet." She hopped on one foot to show Loki the even more intricate designs on the bottom of her other one. There was even some wording twisting with the vines. "It's an attempt – a vain one – from my Gods to persuade me to walk in good places. It doesn't matter what form I'm in," she eyed him carefully to see how he took her admittance of reincarnations. She suddenly sounded bitter when she said, "the henna stays the same."

Loki took a section of time to respond, but nothing really shocked him from what she'd said. He'd been reading about her, after all, from that super creepy book that was starting to give him nightmares. That was what he got for reading it in his nightly routine. "The henna is particularly stressed, isn't it? Rather worn and faded."

"Yeah, well." Krishna fell back again to continue feeling over the things on the wall. With more than one finger. Loki could eat himself with anger, she was done with that stupid rule. "They're getting sick of me. Not very pleased with little Krishna." Noticing that he had struck some sort of nerve as Krish descended into silence, Loki changed the subject.

"It's interesting that you have pale skin," Loki said. He looked at her clothes, considering what part of Midgard they would be most closely related to: India. Or even Pakistan. "considering your heritage."

"I like my pale skin," Krish raised one eyebrow, and Loki was relieved to hear her gain the classic bite back in her voice. "You should see some of my predecessors. A couple of them have blue skin. Some of them have eight arms. I'm pretty legit compared to my background."

Finally, they rounded the last turn to enter the hallway that would lead them to the grand dining hall. Krish stopped, Loki kept walking. That particular hallway was much more grand than the others; huge chandeliers speckled the vaulted ceiling, and Krish found herself entranced with them. It was only in that moment that she stepped back and took note of what she was doing. Going to a dinner with Loki to expose herself to the entire court. What kind of idiot was she to agree to that? No one except the darker Prince was supposed to know she even _existed,_ let alone was traipsing along the grounds. And it wasn't the punishment she might receive from Odin that scared her, it was the one she might get from her blue-skinned, eight-armed superiors.

"I can't do this." She suddenly whispered to herself. Then, without anything else, she turned tail and sprinted down the hallway. She just ran.

"Krishna, I…" Loki turned around to wait for her again, but when he saw her thin frame running like the apocalypse was following her, he took his helmet off, set it on the floor, and ran after her. "Absolutely not…"

* * *

_**MOMENTS LATER. . .**_

* * *

"LET ME GO!" Krish wailed, pounding on Loki's back with her fists. "LOKI, PUT ME DOWN!" With Krishna slung over his shoulder, he walked back to where he rested his helmet and tucked it under his other arm. Then he only adjusted Krishna slightly and kept walking. "I WILL TEAR OUT YOUR LARYNX!" Krish screamed. Loki remained completely unphased. Krish gave a few more screams, many more punches, and continued threatening Loki with horrible, horrible things.

"Oh, calm down." Loki said coolly. When they reached the door, he threw Krish back to the ground in a screaming mess. Where she sat, adamant on not getting back up again. "Now, you listen to me." He pointed at her before settling the massive horns back atop his head. "You are going to behave. I won't suffer through this alone. And, so help me, Krishna, if you shank one of my parents…" Loki reached for the door handle.

"I hate you." Krish spat as she stood back up. She tried to salvage her composure and glue it back together. Then she reached out and gave Loki a solid shove. A few glares later, he offered his arm to her (she took it to spite him, only to spite him) and threw open the door.

When they walked in, it was like an orchestra had been silenced and all the members turned to watch him with curiosity. Well, they didn't watch Loki at all, really. They were much too focused on the mystery girl gripping angrily to his arm. Krishna met all of their gazes. She was never one to shy away from people. But there were so many stares being cast in her direction that she felt she might suffocate. Loki walked them over to a set of two empty chairs in the middle of the table. He tried to be nice. He tried to pull Krishna's out for her, but she kicked him in the shin (lightly, so no one saw) and did it herself.

Thor, Krish noticed, was right across the table from her. With the expression of '_WTH is going on?' _plastered on his face, he could be wondering nothing else but why Loki had just brought someone to dinner.

A girl, even.

A girl that seemed relatively smitten by Loki.

Which was an interesting feeling for Thor, who was sitting across from a maiden who did not return his look with one of complete admiration. In fact, Krishna was looking at him with a deep-set disgust. She nudged Loki in the ribs, keeping her eyes locked on Thor, and then whispered something into his ear.

Loki tried to stifle a smile, but followed it up by looking at Krish with a reproving expression.

"Who," Fandral was actually the first one to break the awkward silence. "Who is this, Loki?"

"No one for you to try to woo, Fandral." Loki snipped back.

"I would also like to know who she is," That voice caught the entire room off-guard and silenced the quipping. Loki immediately stood up from his chair and turned to face the Allfather at the grander table. Krishna picked a stray string off his cape.

"Her name is KrishnaLan, father." Loki's voice was eager to please, hoping that his brash remark to Fandral would not settle with Odin. "I would beg your indulgence for you to allow her into court."

"Absolutely not!" Sif was the one who rose up in protest. Krishna paused, then turned around to look at her black-haired attacker. With none other than one of her looks of poison. So that was the woman who saw her in the hallways turning over tables.

And then went to go tattle to Loki.

"This girl is an offense to the kingdom, Allfather!" Sif rose from her chair (despite Thor's begging her to stay seated). Loki looked panicked, but Krishna was settling back to enjoy the show. She even took a glance down the table to see if there was popcorn. "She entered Asgard against Heimdall's wishes!"

"I did!" Krishna said proudly, holding one hand up. All the eyes rotated to her again. "And it was easy, too."

"This _girl_," Loki spat back, glancing at Sif. He noticed that Krishna already had the glaring handled. So he looked back to his father. "Has a name. She is no more aware of her circumstance than I am, for her. She arrived in Asgard not understanding where she was or where she came from. She is as blind to her own predicament as we are." Krish's eyes widened.

He was a fantastic liar, after all.

"All I ask is that you allow me the opportunity to help her from within the court's settings. We've become friends, she and I." Loki continued, his expression staying soft.

"Any friend of Loki's," Odin glanced down at Krishna. The very second he began speaking, Sif sat down with a scowl, "is a friend of the kingdom, and a friend of mine." The dead-silence between his words made Krish anxious. "She is welcome into court, as long as she is under your strict observation. Now, we are here to celebrate and achievement of yours, my son. Let us celebrate."

Nothing else needed to be said to start the feasting again. The hall strummed back to life with laughter and the clinking of goblets, practically forgetting all about Krish. Loki sat back down, feeling rather ill.

"You hear that?" Loki said to Krish while she looked over the enormous amounts of food. "You have to be under my strict observation."

She snorted.

"Good luck with that." She kept looking at the food. "I think I've gained three pounds just looking at it."

"Yes," Thor chuckled, already helping himself and putting things on his plate. His large red cape and the huge metal plates on his body didn't seem to detract from his appetite. "Gain a few more and eat. This is a feast-"

"Dinner." Loki corrected. Thor wasn't phased. He never was. Maybe it was because nothing ever made it through his skull.

"Loki, and friend, you are allowed to eat."

Loki, since he could see Krish right next to him (and felt like she wasn't going to do anything to him), actually felt his appetite coming back. He stabbed a piece of meat with his fork. And as he was starting to take it to his mouth, Krish reached in and stole it with her fork. She stuck it in her mouth before Loki could even think to protest.

"I'm sorry." Which she wasn't. "I think something just possessed my fork… that was really good, though."

"And that," Thor felt the need to jump into the conversation again, which made Loki want to go into a homicidal rage and kill someone, "was just seasoned meat. Wait until you reach the - " He went on to ramble about half the delicacies on the table, talking about each one like it was his own child. But Krishna wasn't listening, anyway. She was nervous-looking and holding her mouth.

"They are going to be so pissed off with me." She said quietly. "I wasn't supposed to eat that. I've been a vegetarian all my lives. Hindu culture and all." And then, "I'm so screwed."

"Allow me to remove temptation." Loki slid away the tray of meat, but Krishna slid it back, poked another piece, and stuck it in her mouth.

"I've already sinned." She paused and shrugged. "No use trying to be a saint now… that was really good though, have you tried that?"

"I was planning to," Loki said, reaching up and shifting his helmet, "but someone stole it from my fork." Krishna chewed slower, finally letting it click that he was talking about her. She suddenly felt the distinct impression to help fix the problem.

"Right," She selected a piece and slid it onto the prongs of his utensil, "There. Good as new." Now, with the problem obviously solved in her mind, (since Loki was a little whiner) she went back to selecting different food to put on her colossal dinner plate.

Now that Loki was eating (and the meat was actually pretty good, he decided, and was dissatisfied that Krish was right… again), he tuned back in to listen to what Thor and the Warriors Three were talking about. He wasn't very surprised to hear them talking about Krishna, the new meat in the court.

"With an appetite like that, I would have assumed she hadn't eaten in weeks!" Thor crooned, almost watching with pride as Krish slid something else toward her. Loki was three ticks away from pulling out a weapon and using it on someone.

"Her thin frame wouldn't argue to that…" Fandral was next to agree. He still seemed to have plans to flaunt in front of this new girl and see if she was easily smitten. Because, in Fandral's mind, that was the only way Loki would be able to catch her.

"Unusually skinny, isn't she?" Volstagg agreed. "Reminds me of Loki himself."

"Black hair and greenish eyes, too." Hogun nodded.

"I wonder if she has a silver tongue to match," Thor leaned toward his companions. Loki looked on with confusion, his fork and knife hovering in the air as he stopped to listen. "We should prod her into speaking."

"Could we not," Loki's voice jolted them out of their own little worlds and brought them back to reality, "discuss my guest like some sort of battle trophy?" They went silent, and Krishna nudged Loki in the ribs with her elbow.

"If you want to talk about trophies, we should talk about that thing mantled to your head." She said quietly. Loki looked up from his plate and then reared to look at her. The gold on the helmet looked particularly menacing in the even more golden dinner light. "Oh, geez, no! Look the other way! I feel like one of those things is going to go through my eye!" And when Loki kept his head facing her, she took it upon herself to grab one of the horns and turn him away.

"So," If all the others got to talk to their friends, Loki felt like he had the right to as well. "How often did you eat, then, where you're from?"

"Not often," Krish replied.

"Lack of food?"

"More like my superiors decide to punish me by keeping me starved," she looked up at the mountains of food and wine set before her on the table. "I hope they're eating themselves alive right now."

"If you are to be staying with us in court," Thor started.

"Which she is," Loki snapped back. He was feeling relatively defensive of Krishna, even though he was pretty sure she could handle herself. And if she did get in a situation where she couldn't handle herself, she would probably kill everyone off and start again. After stashing the corpses in a hidden closet somewhere. Among all her other corpses.

_Oh, Gods._ Loki thought. _I'm on a set course to being one of those corpses._

"Then your dietary habits of starving are going to have to change." Thor finished, keeping a wary eye on his goat-horned brother. It had been a while since Thor'd seen Loki worked up like that over a girl. Actually, he couldn't pinpoint a time he ever saw him worked up over a girl. Or when he was worked up over the girl and the girl was worked up over him, too. What a refreshing change.

"Don't let them feed you." Loki whispered as Krishna picked up her goblet and peered inside warily. "Sometimes I get the feeling they're only fattening me for slaughter."

"Right." Krishna said, sneering in his general direction. "If your brother shows up in front of me with a cupcake, I'll make sure to send him on his way."

"Don't send him on his way, just kill him," Loki took a drink from his goblet, "Better safe than sorry." Krish, who had been drinking, snorted again and kept her goblet held up to her face when she felt several stares turn her way. She shrunk down in her chair until the feeling of being a public spectacle ebbed away.

"I haven't seen Loki this talkative before." Thor said to Sif. She only scowled and went back into her little puddle of hatred, watching Krishna interact happily with Loki. Thor inspected Loki carefully when he laughed at something his guest said.

Even though Loki was close to killing someone at the dinner table, Sif was even closer. She even had her target decided. Why was it that a girl like that, someone beautiful and thin, got to slip right into the court at the drop of a hat? When Sif had to work her way up to her ranking? It only fit, though. Since Loki was the less favored brother, he'd always gotten pity allowances handed to him.

While on the other side of the table, Loki would have been shocked to have gotten Krish in court. But he wasn't thinking about it. He was too busy talking with her.

The night wore on, all the while the room stayed full of chatter and laughter. Krish and Loki continued to talk to each other on a varied amount of topics (which followed by Krishna betting she could balance a goblet on her nose, Loki betting otherwise, and Krishna winning). Eventually, however, their attentions spanned back out to the court and Krishna started interacting with Fandral and Hogun. Loki, since he found himself attached to Krish at the waist, was dragged into these conversations with the Warriors.

He actually enjoyed himself. He was laughing at jokes Fandral made, stories Hogun told. And whenever the mood dimmed down, Krishna was always sure to pick it right back up. She was completely, utterly alive. Loki was too entranced at the way she talked to realize that everyone else was entranced by her, too. When she said something, everyone stopped to listen and then fell into pieces with laughter.

They hadn't seen the psychopath of her, Loki remembered. That's probably why they liked her so much. She didn't shank any of them yet. Or give her crazy laugh. Or steal into their bedrooms and poke them awake with spears.

Other than that, they were all in love with her personality.

Except Sif.

Only Sif.

The night wore down. Slowly, the members of court trickled out of the room. They would all bow to Odin and the queen before exiting, the majority of them taking the time to give Loki their thanks for the dinner and congratulations for battle. The room was only down to Loki, Thor, The Three, and Sif. The ones who usually stayed into odd hours of the night to talk and play games.

Oh, well, and Krish. Who was out of the loop, and now entertaining herself by putting the candles out. She would lick her fingers, put the flame out with a 'TSSSS,' and wait for a servant to come back and relight it with another candle. Then she'd put it out again, wait for the servant to light it, put it out again, the servant lit it, she hesitated and then put it out again.

The next time she pinched it out, the servant gave her a sigh.

"Do you even want it lit?"

"Oh, yes. Please."

But this even started to bore her after a while. Once she nodded off for a good 5 minutes, then was jolted awake, she decided it would be best for her to retire.

"Hey," Standing up, Krish gave Loki a bump. He was laughing over something one of the others said and turned to her with the humor still dancing in his eyes. "I'm going to leave before I pass out in the food." That killed the dancing humor completely (while it was in the middle of a pirouette, even).

"What?" Fandral squeaked.

"When?" Volstagg asked.

"Why?" Loki rounded out the questions. "Here, I'll go with you." He tried to stand up, but Krish shoved him back into the seat with a 'thunk.'

"You're having fun. Stay here." She eyed his helmet again, which made him particularly nervous. "Besides, Fandral was in the middle of a story."

"No I wasn't."

"Well," Krish paused, glaring at Fandral like he should have agreed with her. "Well he was before I nodded off. So Fandral can retell the story, and I'll go crash. Sounds like a good plan." They watched as Krishna gave a deep bow to the grand table. Her hair skimmed the floor. Loki sighed, resting his head on one hand, depressed that his greatest entertainment was going to be making its leave.

"Thank you for having me, Loki," She walked next to his chair, and gave a much more shallow bow, keeping her eyes centered on his. The bowing was sarcastic, but when Loki still looked sad and displeased, she added, "Do I have to kiss your hand?"

Fandral cracked a massive grin.

"It's not required." Loki said, matching her sarcasm.

It shocked the hell out of him when she slid her hand under his and took it off the table. She took it up to rest it against her mouth, keeping her locked on his. Those dark, gray-green eyes, lit up with the joy of besting Loki at something. Again.

Loki was beginning to burn a bright shade of red, and his ears were going warm. She released his hand. The entire room was smiling now.

Except Sif.

Then, Krishna ruined the moment by reaching up to grab Loki's helmet with lightning speed. She snatched it off his head and galloped toward the door. Loki gasped, and tried to reach out to pry it back. But she was too far out. She stopped halfway there, turned around, and gave a solid war-cry as she held the horns in the air.

Thor and The Warriors Three gave the war-cry right back. Much to Loki's dissatisfaction.

Krishna stared at the glorious golden horned helmet for a moment, then reached up to let it encase her own head.

"Give it back!" Loki exclaimed, too upset and tired to do anything real about it.

"This is my prisoner of war! I'm holding it hostage!" She waved enthusiastically, holding the helmet in place with one hand. "Goodnight! I mean, fare thee well!" Before they could take another blink, she was out the door and sprinting down the hallway in case a fuming Loki was following her.

"Quite a friend, Loki." Thor chuckled, turning back to his brother. "I think I'm beginning to like her myself."

"Ugh." Loki slammed his (now bare) head onto the table. "Just wait until she shanks you."

"What was that?"

"Nothing."

* * *

**xXxXx**

* * *

"No, really!" Loki called out to the hallway, trying to shut his door so he could go to bed. "It's already so late at night, I think I'll pass on the drinking games! I'll talk to you in the morning, Thor." Before anyone else could rise out of the dust to drag him back out, Loki shut the door.

He turned around and sighed deeply through his nose, about to take the cape off his skin and fall into bed.

That was a difficult thing to do, though. Because his bed was already occupied.

Krishna, still in her formal clothes (anklets and all) was completely crashed on Loki's huge circle of a bed. Her legs and arms were splayed out, one hand loosely wrapped around one horn of his helmet. Her hair spread out behind her fluidly, and only one lock of it rested on her face. Her stomach rose and fell every time she took a breath, and she looked completely peaceful.

Loki was about to take the helmet from her, but something made him hesitate.

"I'm not going to tuck you in." He ran his hand over the horn of the helmet and then took his fingers away. Loki sneered his nose up at her silent body. She only replied by sighing in her sleep and burying her face in a pillow. "That's too expected of me."

But the more he stood there and watched her, the more he wanted to pull the blankets over her body. So he finally, after flailing his arms and rolling his eyes, reached down to the crumpled blankets at the end of the bed. He stretched them out over her and let them encase the shape of her body. A few more seconds standing, feeling like a creeper, and then he snagged one of the pillows and started to walk away.

He didn't know where he was going to catch some sleep. Maybe in the hallway. Heck. Maybe even in the tub.

But suddenly, a thin hand was wrapped tightly around his wrist. His eyes snapped open and he looked around to see Krishna holding to his arm. Her eyes were wide open, and she was smiling broadly.

"You lying, traitorous little swine…" Loki sneered down at her, twisting his wrist and feeling his ears start to burn. He'd just tucked her in and she was still awake. But she laughed a little and kept an iron-grip on his wrist. "Let me go. This instant. Take off your anklets. And get out of my bed. Krishna, are you even listening to me?"

One massive yank and a Loki scream later, Krishna had pulled him (cape and all) down onto the plush surface of the bed. She was laughing hysterically.

"Did you see your ears?" She cried out between her cackling. "And the whole 'I'm not gonna tuck you in' stuff?" Loki squirmed.

"No more of your games!" He scolded, trying to get away from her. Now that she was in a more psychopath state of mind, he didn't know what would happen if he stayed within three feet of her. She wasn't peaceful anymore, that's for sure. But Krishna muffled her laughter and pulled him back.

"Okay, okay…" She wrapped her arms around his shoulders. "No more games."

"Let me go."

"Uh, no."

"Krishna!"

"Loki."

"I want to sleep!"

"Then sleep."

"You can't possibly be serious."

"Then I'm doing the impossible."

"Krish."

"Loki."

"Stop."

"No."

"Ugh."

"Hmmm." Krish hummed and rested her head on Loki's shoulder. He rolled his eyes again, his legs still hanging off the edge of the bed and Krishna hanging to his back. "Just please just let me stay just tonight." Was that… worry on the edges of her voice? "I promise I won't draw on you while you're sleeping."

"Promise?"

"…No. But, you're supposed to keep me under your strict observation, remember?"

"Fine." Loki sighed and pulled his legs up onto the mattress. "I don't know why I give into you." Maybe it had to do with the panic in her voice. But morning wasn't too far away, really. What would it hurt to let her cuddle with his cape for a night? Because that was exactly what she was doing. She had completely forgone the blanket and was curled up in his cape.

The reason, he didn't know, that she wanted him to stay was more dark than even she anticipated. She knew she would be having nightmares. Visits from unwelcome company to her dreams. Visions. And she didn't want to be alone through that.

Loki had to admit, though, as he looked down at her henna decorated hands on his chest…

She smelled nice.


	12. Krishna's Reminder

_**Author's Note:** Ladies and gentlemen! I am pleased to announce chapter 12! Quiet down, please, quiet down. I know it took me a little longer than usual, but… quiet down, now. It's here! It's not that long, but it's here! (and on a more serious note, less announcer-y) I really want your feedback of this one. Can anyone say "plot?" Because I know I can…_

_Thank you immensely for keeping through with Black Feathers. **Dark Mind of the American Teen** mentioned to me earlier that the ending of Dark Humor left a gap in her heart. I hope that this story is starting to fill those holes. And the super-creepy Loki/Krishna fluff continues, don't worry._

_I also used a line from **Dark Mind's** newest fan art at the end. If you want to look at that, just slip on over to her DeviantArt. It makes me super happy. Almost as happy as when I hit 100 reviews. (Which was a very happy moment indeed)._

_AND **SuperGirlGwenRose** did a fantastic fan art of Krishna. I was blown away. It's gorgeous. You should really go look at that, too. It made me giddy with happiness. (She got Krishna perfectly). Her name on dA is Abigail Roses. Look her up._

_I will say no more, except the fact that I look forward eagerly to your feedback. And the turtles are all healed and back in the wild, by the way. As well as under the Marine's protection so Loki doesn't get them again._

* * *

TO THE STORY! **dramatic fist pump**

* * *

Krishna's dream shifted fluidly from the average subconscious dream to one of absolute unnerving lucidity. She hardly even noticed the change. One moment she was reloading her rocket launcher to take out the Covenant on Halo - the next she was standing in a stark white box. No windows, no doors, no way to get out. And the rocket launcher wasn't hoisted on her shoulder anymore, to Krishna's displeasure. Because when she looked up at her company, she really could have used it.

"You and your friends," she spat darkly, still feeling like aliens were going to sneak up on her, "need to just leave me alone." A string from her shirt tickled the back of her neck, and she flailed around to see if there were Covenant waiting to attack.

"You are supposed to kneel in front of deities like me," the Goddess Kali was tall and thin, with drapes of magnificent scarf adorning her body. Her grace was unmatched when she walked fluidly across the room, clasping her tan hands behind her back. Her red hair, glistening in the light, floated along behind her, joining with the scarf cast around her neck. She seemed a bright figure against the blandness of the walls.

Krishna didn't need an open, dark space to feel intimidated. All she needed was Kali traipsing along in front of her, and the the henna on her arms seemed to tingle. They clashed, the two of them. They always did.

"Where are your six other arms, Kali?" Krishna sneered, completely ignoring the subtle command to fall to her knees. "And why are you so human-looking? Did you just blow up another major city or something?" Kali's high, beautiful cheekbones turned to face Krish, who wasn't at all keen on hiding her smile.

_'Oh, headshot right there. Perfect.'_ Krish thought. _'Where's a dream pistol when you need one? Stupid faulty subconscious.'_

"You are, again, failing." Kali said simply, stopping just short of Krishna's imaginary kill box.

"Oh," Krish rolled her eyes, "Here we go with the whole guilt trip thing. How many guilt trips is this, then? 100?"

"6,942," Kali sneered, "exactly."

"Oh. Eeee. That's more than 100."

"You were meant to be a bringer of good karma," Kali was back to the whole walking around thing (In Krishna's mind, the whole 'moving target' thing), settled back into her 'I'm better than you' demeanor.

"Yeah. And _you _were supposed to be the Goddess of Life." Krish pointed out, feeling remarkably happy when Kali's expression told her the insult hit home. "Funny how we've grown up, huh?"

"I destroy with glorious purpose."

"Destroying in the name of destruction isn't glorious purpose. That's called being a tool." Which made Kali rear around her head to glare at Krish, who was checking the room for chairs. There weren't any. Just like the rocket launchers. "Can you just get to the point, Kali? I was having a nice dream."

"I didn't know mortal first person shooter games were considered 'nice dreams'." Kali stopped again to sneer. Obviously she couldn't sneer and walk. Krishna's eyes narrowed.

"Stay out of my head."

Kali took the opportunity to motion at the grandiose white walls. "It's too late for that." And she went back to circling like a magnificently dressed vulture. "You consider my visits to be nightmares, but Laufeyson... I gave him a masterpiece of a dark dream not too long ago. And if it weren't for you poking him awake with that primal spear, it would have gotten so much bloodier." Kali seemed to let the word 'bloodier' ease out of her mouth and drip to the floor. Then she stared at it with joy.

THAT made Krishna's airy attitude plummet down a dark hole. "Kali," she mumbled, turning to face her (since the Goddess had made it only halfway around the room). The grayness of her eyes took precedence against everything else. "Don't do that to him. Leave him out of our bickering."

"Do what to him?" Kali attempted innocence in all the wrong ways, and it made Krishna's skin crawl. That chick needed acting lessons. "All I did was give him a preview to his future. A warning, even. It's not entirely my fault if I had fun while I did it." She waltzed into another stop. "And why are YOU so concerned about me showing him the previews, KrishnaLan? YOU'RE the one that has to debut the feature film. Or," Kali's leaned forward frame looked like a vulture even more, "have you forgotten?"

"I didn't forget, I just-"

"Well, let me give you a reminder. What was Loki's nickname for you? 'Krish'." Kali's voice dripped with mockery. Without any further warning, Kali's sharp fingers plunged into the depths of Krishna's neck. The black-haired girl tried to cry in pain, but Kali suddenly reached farther in and attached herself to the spine. Her fingers dug into the nerves parasitically, cutting through muscle like warm water. "This is your LAST CHANCE at redemption."

Each of Krishna's henna markings seared up like a burning tide. Like she was being branded with a million tiny needles. Tiny, boiling needles. When she wailed in pain, the vibrations of her cry trickled their way through Kali's fingers and made a smile tug at her mouth. Krishna gripped to her excruciating forearms while Kali slid her fingers from the flesh of the girl's neck. When she was released, Krish collapsed to the floor, continuing to writhe in agony.

"How many times must we go over this? How hot," and the pain intensified dramatically, "do I have to burn you?" she watched casually as Krishna clawed at the henna, arching her back to get away from the pain. But the disgusting excuse of a Hindu Messenger didn't make any more cries. She only bore it in silence. "You are shackled with the chains of your own Karma, KrishnaLan. They cling to your frame like plaster, like timed explosives." She crouched down next to the suffering girl, her malicious brown eyes beaming with the fakeness always locked behind them. "All I'm trying to do is help you before those explosives detonate."

The pain slowly ebbed away. Krishna's entire body was wracked with the shakes when she pushed herself up to sit straight. The reaction to vomit was intense enough for her to wrap her arms around her legs and bite into her knees. The henna marks still fluttered with a shower of pins and needles. She slowly reached up with one hand to feel the gaping holes left in her neck; holes that wouldn't seal until she woke up again.

The aliens from Halo would be welcome friends. That impression only intensified when Kali stepped in front of the quivering Krishna.

"Your last chance," Kali repeated, slower, more darkly. "Why are you throwing it away? And it's different this time, I noticed. All the times before, you'd given your victims too MUCH Karma. But with this God, you won't give any at all. It isn't love, is it?"

Krishna stayed silent.

"Oh, wouldn't that be something!" Kali exclaimed, and Krishna closed her eyes with shame. "Two star-crossed lovers! One sent to make the other _suffer_ in a torrent of pain, and the God _completely_ oblivious to your treachery! Tell me, Krishna, how will he react when he finds out you were playing him like chess? I wonder what the last glimmer in his eyes will look like. Betrayal, deceit, hatred..." she paused and mulled over the fascinatingly dark situation. "While his blood will be all over your hands, dripping down your arms."

_'I wouldn't even want my immortality,'_ Krishna thought, that thought echoing in the caverns of her mind (but Kali too distracted to hear it). It felt like something had just clicked.

"Have you shown him your original form yet?" Kali smirked, suddenly becoming humored. She had the upper hand now, and she wanted to keep it. She took a glance over the gaping holes in Krishna's neck, still seeping dark fluid to stain her shirt. "His attraction to you is only based on your current appearance, you know. That's the only reason you're so beautiful, so you could target him more directly. He would be disgusted at what you really are."

There was a long break in the tormenting words. Krishna kept gripping to her knees, relishing in the lapse of pain, as Kali looked at one of the blank walls. They were fading gently, shimmering away and giving into Krishna's more solid mind.

"Morning is coming." the dancing humor was gone out of Kali's voice. She was back to being serious, back to fulfilling what she was meant to do. "You know what comes next. Give me your hands." Kali stooped down with a very thin utensil. Krishna didn't hesitate. This was what always happened when she started to fail. As a reminder, one could say. The last time, it was on her back. This time, it was her palms. She held out her hands, palms up, and kept the emotion bottled up inside her punctured throat from coming out.

Kali pressed the carving stick into Krishna's hand, and with a quick jab, it was all the way through to the sections of bone. All the owner of the hands could do was close her eyes and wait for morning.

Kali dragged the utensil through the pale skin, ripping all the tendons in the way as she carved another henna design, the carvings leaving a brownish red mark in their wake. The henna markings all over Krish's body tingled again; previous work from Kali herself. Warm blood was gushing through, dripping down to stain Krishna's vision-wear.

A set of white clothing.

She hated white.

"Now give me your other hand."

* * *

**xXxXx**

* * *

The palace, when Krishna finally woke up, was already humming to life. She had actually been awake for a while, but was completely frozen in the same position: her head underneath the pillow, Loki's blankets wrapped tightly around her body. But she didn't want to move. Maybe it was because of the aching pain in her palms. She really didn't want to look at the new marks.

When Krish DID move, it felt weird. Every one of her muscles rose up in protest. The second she pushed herself to sit up, the bed screamed at her to lay back down. The empty bed, Krish noticed.

Noticing the emptiness, she clambered her way over to the edge and peered off to see Loki on the floor, wrapped up in his own cape, clutching his helmet to his chest to protect it from being stolen again. She thought about what she wanted to do for a minute. Half of her wanted to do something really awful, like throw the nightstand down on him and see how he reacted. Instead she only whispered-

"Loki?"

It took him less than a second to hum 'what?' in a very upset, morning-like manner.

"Why are you off the bed?"

He flipped around on the floor to look up at her with (a severe case of bad hair and) an 'are you kidding me right now?' expression. Krishna shrunk back a little. If his hair looked like that, she wondered what mess HER hair looked like. "You shoved me off!" Loki breathed, "In the middle of the night! I woke up to you kicking my back, muttering something ridiculous about aliens, and then my face made friends with the floor."

"I'm glad to see your face and the floor got along." Krish said, phrasing her words carefully. Because Loki had the horns now, and they could be used as a weapon. "In my defense, though, the Flood aliens were going to be coming after me soon, so I had to clear the area."

He stayed completely angry with her.

"No, seriously, those things are freaky." No change in his 'look what you've done to me' expression. "Some of them explode and then other little ones come out and they run toward you and feast on your brainmatter." No change. Krish reached forward, trying to poke Loki's head as she rephrased, "Your brainmatter." very slowly. He only slapped her hand away.

But he was kinda smiling, and Krishna counted that as a win.

"Loki?" Krish pulled the covers up to her chin and gazed down at him. He sighed, rested his head on the ground, and gazed back, waiting for whatever ridiculous thing was going to come out of her mouth next. "Have you had any nightmares recently?" his head perked back up.

"What?"

"Like, nightmares. Bad dreams. Y'know. Come on, man. It's not that difficult to understand."

"What brings that question?" Loki's tone dropped, which gave Krishna the answer she was looking for. Then he said, "I suppose looking back, I have. But nothing too severe, really."

"Hey, if _I_ did anything to you in those nightmares," Krish started. Loki immediately flashed back to the needle and the feathers, the darker version of Krish stitching his mouth shut, and his eye twitched a little, "I'm really sorry."

"You have nothing to be apologetic about." Loki took a while before he answered, but Krishna's entire countenance seemed to relax when he finally did. "You weren't feasting on my brainmatter, at least." They shared another long pause, both of them looking at the other one's hair and morning irritation. Loki decided Krishna could be serene if she focused on it, and she was particularly calm in that moment…

And then Krishna turned the crazy switch back on.

After she chased him around the room extensively, screaming "_BRAINMATTER!_" at the top of her lungs and reaching for Loki's skull, he finally managed to slip out of the room and slam the door closed.

He could hear her collide with it, then scream a chain of obscenities as she came to terms with the fact that her prey escaped. Then she muttered obscenities directed toward Loki himself, trying to pull the door open. He was keeping it held back with his entire body weight. There was a moment of distinct resistance when Krishna was doing a remarkable job of pulling the door. Loki thought it was nearly over. But her grip of the handle slipped, and he heard her fall back onto the stone floor of his chambers with a massive amount of angry screaming. Loki, with that divine intervention, sprinted down the hallway as fast as he could, muttering-

"Krishna's not stealing my helmet anymore!"


	13. The Corset Tightens

_A/N: If you missed the last chapter, make sure to read it up. That might be wise. Otherwise you'll be reading like "Wait, WTF is going on here...?" __Also, thank you again for all the support. (Frick, Phan, shut up about the thank yous!) I would be NOTHING without you guys. *Dramatically* I would be a shell!  
__In other news, I have a poll up on my profile if you want to take a swing by that. I could always use the help and feedback. Right now I think it's about bittersweet endings. Much appreciated.  
__Don't forget to poke that review button._

_(Krish: OR SHANK IT! :D) _

_(GO BACK TO MY SUBCONSCIOUS)_

* * *

**_Normal POV_**

* * *

"Well, that is what I told her. But if you've confronted that girl at all, you know what kind of demon she is." The guard looked down at his royal guard apparel, picking at something as he twisted the new spear in his hand. _New_ spear because his _old _spear was stolen from him by Loki's new interest. After scaring him senseless and sending him sprinting for the BiFrost. His friend, another guard standing in the barren hallway, watched on with genuine concern.

"Did she steal your spear again? When did you come back from the BiFrost?" He asked gingerly, casually, almost leaning up against the wall. The pace of the palace had been slow. Nothing interesting had been thrown in to stir the pot. So the only thing the guards could do was gossip; it kept them occupied. Over time, they became nearly professional at it. They were almost on the professional gossip level as young schoolgirls.

Some of the most intimate circles of Asgard were the circles of the guards. That was just known fact. The gossiping conversations were completely top secret, and only those in the 'know' got in on the subject matter. The most popular subject among the gossiping was of the Darker Prince being twitterpated over his new courting partner. And, to be less specific, the conversations usually revolved around the girl herself. That, and the incident of spear-stealing, was exactly what set the scene.

"My friend, you did not see what I saw." The first said, "Her face, it completely changed… like the devils of old. Devils that we only read about. She most certainly isn't of Asgard. Or any world we know. Maybe she's of the underworld."

"Bluffing." The other chuckled. He was almost relishing in the fear overcoming his friend's eyes. "Loki is not courting a demon."

"I don't know, my friend. I think you might be mistaken in this matter."

But before the oh-so-interesting conversation could trudge on, something stirred up the air. There was the distinct small sound of pattering, and before the guards could act too much on it, KrishnaLan herself rounded the corner. She was gasping for breath, running as fast as she could down the hallway. Each foot padded on silently underneath her, but with the quickness she needed. Like she was being herded after by a swarm of mindless zombies (probably to eat her brainmatter).

To add on to the already weird scene, tucked under her right arm was Loki Odinson's goathead helmet.

The guards were watching in sheer confusion.

KrishnaLan skidded to a stop right in front of them, throwing back her dark hair with one hand. She took only a second to catch her breath before thrusting the helmet into the hands of one of the royal defenders. He had no choice but to accept it. Very warily.

"Here, you take that…" She panted, looking behind her, almost fearful that the zombies were already there. "And, uh…" Krish scratched her neck, getting ready to run again. "I wouldn't let Loki see it, mmkay? Just… try to hide it… and… and good luck, alright?" Then, with an excruciating amount of mockery, she placed one hand on the shoulder of the more horrified guard. No doubt remembering what happened the night she stole his weapon. "I will always love you." Scrambling back to a start took a little more effort. She was off again, though, running away (glancing back in intervals for zombies).

"Wha…?" the guard holding the helmet looked around, trying to find a place to stash the horns. Putting it in one of the huge, extravagant plants was the only thing he could come up with. So he did.

Right in the nick of time, too.

Loki also rounded the corner (much less elegantly), shouting like a maniac. It was… an interesting…thing to see. The Prince of Asgard, blisteringly angry, running at top speed down the hallway and giving his best war cry. He didn't really know how to stop as fluidly as Krishna did, but he did the best he could and somehow managed to come to a halt in front of the guards. His (more) casual apparel fluttered behind him before resting around his legs.

Loki gripped one of the guards angrily by the shoulders, and shook him violently. The guards arms were flailing in every direction. "WHERE IS SHE? WHICH WAY DID THAT SNEAKING PARASITE GO?" The guard only gave a slightly terrified scream, which was blurred by the shaking of his body. Like a ragdoll. The other one, since he wasn't being shaken, raised one hand to point the direction out.

Loki released the (now twice over mentally scarred) man. Then, with a "When I get my hands on that filthy little…" he continued his run down the hallway.

The non-scarred guard placed one hand gingerly on the other's shoulder. "Are you sure it's the _girl_ who's the demon?"

* * *

**xXxXx**

* * *

Krishna ran all the way to the raised gardens. She actually didn't mean to run there, it kinda just happened that way. Because she had no idea what was where in that place. She really could have used a map of the palace. A map would be nice. Or even posted directions with red arrows indicating "YOU ARE HERE."

But when she ascended a concealed set of stairs and climbed up into the beautiful rays of sunlight, she was happy it had been a chance encounter. The raised gardens were beautiful, set atop the palace, where the blossoming foreign plants could get the most light. The hundreds of moist petals and leaves glimmered alienly, almost beckoning others to go closer to their poisonous fronds. It was a sea of plants, too. In a decadent variety of color and shades of green.

Krishna, however, wasn't really one for all the sentimental beauty. All she wanted was a place to sit down and think (a place that also doubled as a hiding spot from Loki). Any place would have sufficed. She settled on the lip of a polished stone water fountain and looked out at the huge sky. Nebulas were dancing, other planets glimmering in the darkness. Everything was so ethereal it was unreal.

While Krishna was growing up down on Midgard, the only thing she'd seen even CLOSE to the majesty spread out in front of her was in fantasy drawings. But, while the sky was closer to peaking her interest, not even that captivated her enough.

She leaned back, setting her hands in the fountain. The cool water did something to cool her nerves.

What had she gotten herself into THIS time?

It wasn't supposed to be this hard at all. A simple mission. But Krishna hadn't planned on growing so close to her victim.

She gave an exasperated sigh and buried her face in her hands. The water that was left on her fingertips trickled down her face. Being so emotionally conflicted wasn't her forte. Emotionless, cold, icy. That was usually the way to go for her. But now her emotions were springing up randomly and tangling in on themselves. She wished she could just go into the caverns of her soul and slaughter all those emotions. Emotion sucked.

The corset of this entire mess was starting to tighten around her. Loki was right, it hurt. But she didn't even want to think about Loki right then.

Going back to sleep would be the most ideal, but the palace-goers wouldn't let her sleep past noon. Especially Sif; Sif got hilariously angry whenever Krishna even did something remotely out of the norm. (Which meant Sif was angry a lot)(and Krishna was entertained…a lot).

Who else ascended the stairs than Loki, (speak of the devil, devil appears) still looking angry with the girl who had just stolen his helmet (again). But she didn't see him come up into the gardens. When he saw her doubled over with her face in her hands (looking particularly sorrowful) he reconsidered his anger.

When he sat down next to her, she peeked through her fingers to look up at him. Then she reared her head the other way and groaned. Loki barely caught what she mumbled as being something dark directed toward him.

Krishna didn't say anything. She just rested her hands in her lap and looked down at the new markings created by her "superior." Loki, being the curious poke-in that he was, had to add his sense on the markings. And he wanted to break the silence, because it was killing him slowly from the inside out.

"I did not see those particular markings before," Loki noted, his eyes locked on the Hindi words imbedded deeply on her palms. "What words do they say?"

"This one," Krishna held her left hand up, showing the foreign word, "You say it as viphalata."

"Vi-phal-ata?" Loki repeated quietly, and Krishna couldn't help but smile when he slaughtered the word. He grimaced at his mistake, trying to brush it away casually with, "What does that mean?"

Krishna put her hand back down, hesitated, "It means failure." Loki's expression changed completely. Krish held her other hand up. "And this one," She laughed a little bit, but to laugh it sounded like she had to accept some amount of pain, "This one is 'sapita atma'. It means 'damned soul'." She put her hands back into her lap.

"Krishna," Loki wanted to reach out and touch her hands, but he didn't. A decision he started to regret, "if you'd like to confide in me any troubles you're having…"

"Nope." Krishna gave another pained laugh, feeling over the fronds of a nearby plant to avoid making eye contact with her company. "I wouldn't like to." It was the independent side of Krishna kicking back in. She could handle herself. She'd been alone since the beginning, so there was no use accepting comfort now.

She turned back to face forward, and kept her hands clasped together so she didn't have to look at the marks. The tear that was gathered at her waterline was unmistakable, and Loki saw it, but it never fell. Krishna wouldn't let it. Crying was for pansies.

Pansy was the last thing she wanted to be.

I mean, pah-shaw. This is Krishna.

"Loki, you've made all my insides this twisted concoction of…" Krish searched her database of words, but came up short, "Bleh…" He turned to look at her, she was still shaking her head as she attempted to find something that could replace 'bleh.' But just Loki sitting there with his slicked back hair made her train of thought go flying off the tracks.

So in order to properly express how she was feeling, she only had one option.

Well, she had a few options, but this one was the least bloody.

Without saying anything more, Krishna stood up, took Loki's face in her hands, and kissed his forehead gently. He exhaled in surprise, his stomach suddenly catching fire and warming his entire body. But before he could do much else about it, Krishna left him alone on the water fountain as she started walking for the stairs. That simple little kiss to the forehead was pretty much the equivalent of Krishna shanking him.

He didn't know how he was supposed to react, or what he was supposed to do, or if he was supposed to shank her back, or if he was just meant to leave it be, and he found himself wondering why she even did it in the first place, because it was so out of line for Krish, and then he realized that he was just kissed – but he didn't know where to put his hands or what to say and he wondered if Krishna was thinking the same way, and where was he supposed to put his hands? So he just crossed them over his chest, but he was still trying to get his brain to cope with the fact that Krishna just showed him some sort of affection, and not even in the way that he expected. His hands still felt awkward, so he moved them again.

While Loki was thinking all these things in his run-on sentence style, sitting there with wide eyes (and his hands clasped together in his lap), Krishna was thinking about food.

She was feeling relatively hungry, willing to drown herself in wine, and there was probably food galore down in the main hallways. If she was really lucky, even, she might be able to avoid Thor. If she was even MORE lucky, she might run into him and get the chance to do something horribly twisted.

For some reason, poking at Thor made her stay at court that much more fun.

"So you just built up all that tension," Loki, finding something to say, cried out to her before she could go down the stairs. He was leaned over now, something very unusual for him. Krishna almost told him to sit back straight. His slouching was giving her the creeps, "and then you just walk away?"

She flipped around to confront him, the scarf of her simply black outfit drifting along with her. "You're the one that isn't following me. Technically, you're letting the moment get away." Then she slipped down the stairs as elegantly as a cat.

Loki stood up and walked over to the dark stairwell, brushing one hand over the plants he passed. But when he looked down the lengthy stretch of stairs, Krishna wasn't there. Loki plucked up a nearby leaf and ripped it in half. He didn't know if he was bitter because he let the moment get away…

…or because Krishna just successfully pulled her disappearing trick on him. _Again._

* * *

**xXxXx**

* * *

Krishna's adventure to the dining halls wasn't as easy as she made it out to be in her head. She was looking forward to an adventure, and she knew the hallways would be long. Heck, maybe she'd even encounter a dragon to slay.

She was lost for what seemed like an eternity. Mostly because Loki wasn't there to tell her which hallway to go down.

Also because she didn't have a map.

She even realized that touching the things on the wall wasn't very satisfying, because Loki wasn't there to yell at her for it.

After a few minutes of marching optimistically in who-knows-what direction, Krishna actually started feeling a little nervous. Every hallway started to look the same, every staircase led her to somewhere she'd been before. So she thought that walking in one direction might be beneficial.

Yeah.

It wasn't.

Right before she was really about to dive into sheer paranoia, half-thinking that a creepy little girl from a horror movie was going to appear in the empty hallways, something divine happened.

Thor.

Thor turned the corner, flipping through a book Loki gave him (in a desperate attempt to try to get Thor to start reading), and began walking down the same hallway Krishna found herself lost in.

"OH MY HEAVENS, THOR! I've never been so happy to see an idiot like you in my _life_!" Krish exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air. Thor jumped at the sound of her voice and looked up at her as she walked to him. Her insulting him, she realized, was justified, because he didn't seem to register the insults at all. "Can you find it in your skull to point me to the dining hall?"

Thor pointed.

Krishna face-palmed.

"Ugh. No. Tell me what hallway I'm supposed to go down." But before Thor could answer, another voice rose up from behind Krishna.

"I never thought of you to be one for asking directions." The sound of that unmistakable voice made Krishna's hands clench up just a little. Loki sauntered toward her. Then he nodded at Thor, who continued on his way now that the situation was in hand. Krishna was irritated, slightly embarrassed, but still relieved.

At least she wouldn't have to tap into her knowledge of Bear Grylls. Not today. Surviving the halls of the Asgard palace didn't seem friendly. Quite slippy, really.

"Hi, Loki." Krish managed the greeting as cutely as she could, but it still came across with a healthy dose of poisoned spite, "Are you going to help me find my way?"

"I might." Loki picked at his thumb. Krishna's eagerness dropped to the floor and scraped across the tile. Eventually, it just ended up in a dead, crumpled mass at her feet. It gave a few twitches, a sputter, and then the eagerness was completely dead. Flat-lined.

"You aren't going to just leave me in the hallway, are you?" She asked carefully, resisting the sudden urge to punch him in the stomach.

"Oh, but I like this." Loki smirked. He clasped his hands behind his back. It was about time he had the upper hand when it came to his and the girl's constant bantering. He wasn't going to just relinquish the upper hand like that just because Krishna got a little twitchy. Or because her eagerness was dead.

"Loki…"

"I actually came back to reclaim the moment that I let slip from my grasp." When he stepped into Krishna's kill box, a smile played around the corners of her mouth. He edged ever nearer. His face went closer to hers, but she didn't shove him away like she thought she might. In fact, when she tried to step away, her feet wouldn't let her. She found her neck craning up toward his face, ever nearer…

And then Loki smiled darkly, only an inch away from their mouths meeting, but not quite there. "Have fun finding your way." and he disappeared, only a mist of green and black following him up. Krishna flailed her arms.

"LOKI! COME BACK!" She screamed. But her calls, though they were cute, ended up being ultimately futile. They echoed pointlessly on the walls. "LOKI!"

Nothing responded. Krishna's usually cocky face, the one that was abnormally confident and independent dropped from 'enraged' to 'terrified.' The thoughts of the Grudge girl slowly played back into her mind.

The dead eagerness at her feet came back to life in a mutated form, snaked its way up her back, and left her pigeon-toed and horrified.

"Loki?"


	14. Intoxicated Insanity

"Loki? Guess what?" Krishna rolled over on the floor to peer up at him. He was nestled in one of the windows of the dining hall, and when Krish asked for his attention again, he rested his book in his lap and stared down at her. Krishna: just lying there on the floor.

"What?" He grumbled.

"I'm bored." Krish put her hands behind her head and looked at the vaulted ceiling. She tried counting how many intricate little patches of detailing were up there, gave up after successfully counting five and said, "Hey Loki, guess what?"

He turned the page of his book, sniffed a little, and then said, "What, Krishna?" Without looking up from the page. Krish found this reaction very not awesome, and she immediately pushed his feet down off the window ledge, sat across from him, and got in his face.

"I'm freaking bored." And then, breaking the chain of this back-and-forth conversation with an imaginary axe, added, "Why the heck did you bring me here?" Followed with an over-dramatically grand gesture to the dining hall. It was a whole lot more spacious when there wasn't an entire court of people at the table. The massive windows were carved out to let in the maximum amount of light. They did their jobs well. Morning sunlight was beaming in warmly through the panels to reflect off the golden goblets on the table.

Just tall, thin goblets, though.

No plates. No food.

Which made Krishna want meat that much more.

"Be patient. Your lust for immediate gratification will come back to haunt you." Loki used one foot to shove Krish back to the floor. Once his window ledge was free again, he put a leg on it and left the other dangling down to Asgard far below.

Krish gave a huge yawn. If it weren't for her aching desire to spite Loki senseless, she would have fallen asleep right there on the ground. After wandering around the palace (after Loki had completely played her up and then deserted her) the previous night, she was inclined to give up completely. She had dropped to the ground and fallen asleep in the hallway. Mostly crushing the carcass of her already dead (rather undead and totally mutated) eagerness.

She woke up when Loki gave her one solid "THUNK" of a kick to her back. He, feeling at least the reminiscent emotion of guilt, felt morally inclined to go back to rescue her pathetic frame. The whole palace was then treated to the sound of Krishna kicking and screaming when Loki had thrown her over his shoulder. He carried her to the dining hall, tossed her inside, and commanded the guards to keep the door closed.

Her cries of "I'M A PRISONER! I'VE BEEN KIDNAPPED!" matured into dark threats that had something to do with Loki's innermost organs (very Krishna-ish threats that Loki was building an immunity to) which eventually developed into her present boredom.

Her declarations of maddening idleness died down. But the immediate successor of this was to poke Loki in the ribs, put her face in her hands cutely, and ask, "Can I braid your hair?" Only earning her a look of disgust, another shove to the floor, and Loki's unbridled hatred in saying –

"Stop it."

One intense glare-down and an almost school-girl-slap-fight later, Krishna's questions were finally answered. The doors eased open with thunderous vibrations, letting a slew of servants scurry in with bottles of wine being cradled in their arms. Krish watched skeptically as they each went to go fill a pair of goblets.

"Is this... a wine tasting?" Krishna asked half-heartedly with half-open eyes to match. "It's a wine tasting, isn't it? Congratulations, Loki. You've officially created the most cliché date ever."

"Not a date. Again. Stop calling things dates. I'll TELL you when I take you courting." Loki set the book down on the window ledge and hopped down to go talk to one of the hand servants. Leaving Krishna to flail her arms without an audience. "Stop your impertinence and drag yourself over here."

At first, Loki was the only one who tasted anything. He would take a critical eye to it, swish it around the goblet, smell it, taste it, and then move on to the next one. Occasionally making remarks about the wine to Krishna earned him no bonus points in her category. She was still with all guards up, standing very anti-this-activity at the end of the table.

At one point she started poking at Loki for being so emotionally involved with the wines.

A few moments after damaging Loki's pride, she started making towers with anything nearby. When she tried to use the chairs as building blocks, Loki put an end to _that_.

The only thing that she finally consented to consume were the pastries in the middle of the table. The sugar cookie things meant to cleanse your palate after each wine.

The second she started leaning out the windows to spit on the passerbys, Loki was officially fed up with her. He decided the next time she said or did anything pessimistic, he was going to force the wine down her throat. Whether she wanted it there or not.

"I don't like your shoes, Loki," counted as pessimistic in his book. So he gripped one of the goblets and walked over to Krishna casually.

"What are you doing?" She asked, backing up slightly. And when he didn't stop in his advances, Krish screamed, "Stay back, fiend! Foul creature of the night!" Even Krishna mocking Loki's dialect didn't stop his pursuit. Eventually, after giving chase around the room, he caught her and held her in his empty arm. All without spilling the wine in his other hand. Even if Krishna wouldn't acknowledge it, Loki thought that was a talent: to not spill wine when dealing with a psychopath. "ARGH! LOKI! LET ME GO!"

"Drink the wine, Krishna."

"YOU POISONED IT. I CAN JUST FEEL IT." She wailed dramatically. "YOU WANT ME _DEAD_."

"Krishna, it's just wine." As he brought the cup to her mouth, he added, "Drink it or I'll throw you out the window."

Krish gave a few more attempts at breaking free, but nothing was going to stop a dedicated god. He was super focused on his mission. Krishna gave her last valiant effort at release. And upon failure, gave in to drinking the wine.

Valiant effort, Krishna. Valiant failed effort.

But after she swallowed what little she allowed in her mouth, she cringed and made a retching noise that a dying cat would be completely jealous of. "That is NOT wine. That's _hand sanitizer_. How do you drink that stuff?"

"Alright then." Loki casually set it on the table and selected another one. "Try this."

Krish, still very much imprisoned in his grip, was seeing red. She wasn't just seeing red, she was seeing scarlet. Crimson. She tasted the next wine with homicidal intent. As much as she hated thinking it, however, it tasted better than hand sanitizer. It actually tasted divine. Loki set it back on the table, but Krishna snatched it with one hand took a deep drink from it.

"I'm keeping this one." She said, her voice reverberating in the metal as she put her face in the goblet. After that, Loki's problems were solved. From that point forward, Krish was lenient to trying the other wines. Once they reached the sweeter varieties, Krishna was starting to even go as far to_ enjoy_ the not-a-date date.

Right when Loki was thinking the morning might have been salvaged after all, (and he didn't even have to throw the girl out the window), someone took a candle to it and lit it up in flames all over again.

Who was that someone? Well, that someone was Thor.

"Ah! Wine, is it?" He declared loudly, storming into the room in the pompous way that only Thor could. "I was not told that you were drinking wine in here, brother." He walked up to Loki and slapped one hand on the back of his neck. "All you told me is that you were preparing something in order to impress your black haired friend." And then finally making the realization, "Oh, she's here too."

Krishna stopped eating a sugar cookie mid-bite. She set it down on the table slowly and looked at Loki with thinned, mischievous eyes and a dignity-crushing smile. A smile that, when paired when Thor's embarrassing words, lit the fuse on making Loki's face burn. He tried to turn away to hide his reddening cheeks, but Thor only rotated him back.

"Tell me, Loki. Did it impress her at all?" He asked, slapping Loki on the back again. Krishna rested her elbow on the table and her face in her hand. She watched Loki gently, not deciding whether she found his embarrassment hilarious or adorable.

"Oh, it definitely impressed me." she said before Loki could fail in creating an excuse. Loki looked up at her, shocked that what came out of her mouth was actually (mostly) genuine. And when his look turned from 'shock' to 'thanks,' Krishna added, "He's been very charming recently, Thor. I don't know what's gotten into him."

"Interesting." Thor pondered, turning his gaze to Loki as well. "Interesting indeed…"

"Stop looking at me." Loki demanded, dropping his own eyes to the floor. Krishna watched him for a little bit longer, sighed through her nose, and then went back to the wine in front of her face. It was mocking her, begging her to go back to the alcohol, and she was more than willing to give in.

"Anyway. While this is cute and everything, I'm getting back to what this thing was _supposed_ to be about." Krish hummed, swishing around the wine. But her statement brought something expected (unwanted, though) out of Thor.

"I do not think delicate maidens such as yourself should be drinking wines such as these." Thor chuckled. Loki looked up at him with panic in his eyes.

"No, Thor, don't insult – "

"_Delicate_?" Krishna repeated slowly. "Did you just call me _delicate_?"

"Krishna, please don't hurt anyone – " Loki pleaded, but before he could finish, Thor had shoved him out of the way (he wasn't an important part of this conversation, anyway) and took another few steps toward Krishna.

"I bet," Krish started, leaning back and folding her arms across her chest. Loki muttered 'here we go' in the background and hit his face with his palm. "That this _delicate maiden_ can drink more wine than you."

"Is this a challenge?" Thor chuckled. He looked back at Loki, who was banging his head against the wall. "Brother, you did not tell me this girl was one for challenges." Loki was going into bouts of maniacal laughter. So Thor ignored his verging insanity and looked back at Krishna, who was already holding one of the goblets. "I accept."

She downed its contents, cringed, and reached for another one.

* * *

xXxXx

* * *

"Krishna!" Loki reached out again, stretching his fingertips as far as they would go. But she avoided his attempt at reaching her like nothing and continued running down the corridor. While Loki chased the girl, fearing that he would become exhausted before she did, he realized two things.

a) He needed to get in shape.

And…

b) Alcohol affected Krishna in some screwed up ways.

Krishna, (surprise, surprise) (literally, though, it was a shock), was the one to come out victorious in the wine drinking competition between her and Thor. It wasn't really a noble win, because they had run out of wine before either of them were ready to quit (and Krishna had been the one to grab the last goblet), but it was a win nonetheless. While Thor only accepted his loss, waved goodbye, and left, Krishna didn't come out so unscathed.

Unlike Thor, she didn't have a tolerance for alcohol. Loki could understand that; he got drunk easily as well. But Krish wasn't really 'drunk.' Apparently, instead of making Krish tipsy, unbalanced, and unfocused…

Alcohol made her sharp, super-awake, as fast as a rocket, and completely, utterly insane.

Which is where we find our estranged couple: Loki desperately chasing Krishna before the latter had the chance to do something horrible. Loki, after losing his chance to grab the girl again, had completely lost her when she disappeared around a corner. All he could do was grab onto the bull and hang on for the ride. He found himself, in desperation, tiptoeing along the remnants of her crazed laughter to find where she went. At one point, her super-keen alcohol-enhanced hearing made her bolt when Loki came yards away from snagging her.

They'd been playing this cat-and-mouse all day (and while Loki knew he was supposed to be the cat, he felt like he was the opposite instead). A whole afternoon and evening slaughtered just like that, all of Loki's previous plans sent up in flames as the ashes fell around him. And ashes falling in your face and obstructing your vision can be a bad thing when you're trying to find a maybe-psychotic-but-I'm-not-quite-sure-because-she's-hammered-beyond-belief woman.

So he tiptoed.

Tiptoe, tiptoe, tiptoe, suddenly a guard's scream ripped through the silence, jogging, running, sprinting…

_So help me, if she killed anyone…_

Loki rounded the corner to see Krishna in a crumpled heap on the wall at the end of the corridor, with a guard staring at her in a very defensive position. Loki ran up to examine her unmoving body lying there on the ground, then he reared up to the guard and (all fear of being randomly stabbed by Krish being thrown out the window) exclaimed –

"What did you do to her?"

"What did I do to HER? You should be asking what SHE did to me!" The guard wouldn't put away his sword until Loki shoved it down. Having blades pointed at Krishna made him squeamish. It was just blades, though, that made him nervous. "That thing has probably delivered me nightmares for many a moon after this."

"What?" Usually flailing arms was Krishna's strong suit, but Loki enjoyed the feeling. "She's just a_ girl_. Not a monstrous assassin. I mean," he gestured at her. "_Look _at her."

"It was running at me," The guard panted, "And right before it reached me, it collapsed there on the floor."

"_It_?" Loki spat back, "And why did you have to give out that bloodcurdling shriek? You are perfectly unharmed!"

"You did not see what I saw. What was running at me down that hallway is not the timid girl you are looking at right here." The guard's justification of his actions didn't really sit well with Loki, who was staring at him with angry eyes. Not only was the prince completely exhausted from a day of running at top speed, he was also being particularly antagonized by the dark light of the night beaming in through the windows.

He didn't know why the moonlight was pissing him off, it just _was._

Lots of things were pissing him off at that moment, actually.

Without saying anything else (if he said anything else, he was afraid it would be paired with him stabbing the insolent person that was the guard) Loki bent down to Krishna and picked her up in his arms. Her drunken eyes looked back at him, a dark clumsy smile painted on her face. THAT was the kind of drunk Loki was used to. The kind of drunk that didn't freak the heck out of him. He adjusted her in his arms to make sure she wouldn't fall and get a concussion, and then strutted away from the stupefied guard.

"Loki, pst…" Krishna tapped his cheek gently, which took some effort on her part. His footsteps were like earthquakes in messing up her sense of balance. She tried for his cheek again, and he leaned his face away from her so she wouldn't poke his eye. "Loki where are… where are we?"

"Asgard."

"What do…" Krishna paused to give the most adorable drunk hiccup ever. "Loki, hey, listen to me."

"I can hear you." Loki said, taking a turn down one of the hallways and looking at the staircase he would have to ascend. A staircase that made him grumble under his breath.

"No." Krish tugged on Loki's collar, and pulled his head down. Then, she whispered in his ear as softly as you would talk to a newborn, "I don't want you to _hear_ me. I want you to _listen_ to me."

"I give you my word." Loki said slowly. This was a side of her he hadn't seen before. "I'm listening to you, Krishna."

"Who the hell said they were Krishna? _I'm_ Krishna!" She flailed around a little, Loki struggled to keep his hold of her, and his cursing at her didn't have any effect on her behavior. Eventually she got in the position to perfectly peer over his shoulder, and in her best Mission Impossible voice she grumbled, "Are there any imposters we have to kill, agent?"

Now this? This was the side of Krishna he was used to.

"I believe we're fine."

"Who are you talking to? Ghosts? Are there ghosts around here? Can you see them? Can you teach me how to see them, too? I've… I've always wanted to learn to talk to ghosts…"

"I'm talking to you."

"Wait, who are you talking to?"

"You."

"Where are you taking me?"

"To bed."

"Bed? Like… like for sleeping or something?"

"Exactly."

"Loki… pst… hey, hey Loki?" Krish held her fingers out and poked each one of them. Then she waggled them around a little. "What are these?"

"Those? Those are your fingers."

Thankfully, Krishna became so enthralled by these things called "fingers" that she descended into silence. Loki took a deep breath through his nose and passed right by his room. There was no way he was letting a stoned Krishna sleep in the same room as him. That was like playing Russian Roulette where there's only barrel WITHOUT the bullet. And that 'one barrel' would be if Krishna decided to spare him. Which, in her drunk state, wasn't going to happen.

Snowball's chance in Hell.

He walked on through the hallway, posture perfect and face deadpan, ignoring any strange looks he was given for carrying the intoxicated girl. All he could think about, really, was putting her in the Warming Room and being able to get something done. The idea of being without Krish for a while opened him up to a million possibilities: magic training, reading, socializing, learning.

But, for some reason, it didn't really seem enjoyable. Thinking about being without Krish didn't make him feel _empty_ (too cliché) but it made him feel… exposed.

"You were too cute for that, anyway." Krish mumbled drunkenly to herself. Then she chuckled and buried her face in his shoulder. Her chuckle was contagious, and Loki actually cracked a smile as he asked –

"What was that, Krishna? What was I too cute for?"

"For me to hurt you." Krish slurred, rolled her head back and stared at him dreamily. "I was supposed to, but...I... the Gods can shove it up their… up their… I forgot the word…" She went through another bout of giggling before adding, "I don't want to hurt you, Loki." Her eyes widened dramatically. "You're like my BEST. FRIEND. _EVER_."

She didn't want to hurt him anymore. And she also just solidly declared to Loki and the empty walls that he was her best friend. That made him feel like someone wrapped a thick fleece blanket over his shoulders. He stopped in the hallway to relish in that feeling.

"Whoa." Krish stuck her arms out like she was trying to balance herself. Even though she was being held by Loki, completely stabilized. "We're not moving anymore." Loki gave a smile and continued walking for the Warming Room. "There we go…"

"You know what I think, Krishna?" Loki hummed, feeling like he was talking to himself, making these realizations. "I think you're my best friend as well." Krish smiled, closing her eyes and resting on his shoulder as his footsteps started to rock her to sleep.

"You promise?" She asked softly.

"I promise."

"Loki," Krish hiccupped again. There was a long pause as she tried to herd her thoughts back together and piece them into an entire sentence. "I've never had a best friend before. Never really had a friend at all."

Loki looked straight forward and tried to avoid pouting at how sadly she said that.

"Loki?" Krish waggled her fingers. "What are these? I forgot again."

* * *

xXxXx

* * *

"Have you proclaimed love to her yet?"

"No, Hogun, don't ask that. That's too personal." Volstagg used one massive hand to shove Hogun away, "Loki, has _she_ proclaimed love to _you_, yet?"

"I am still having issues believing that Loki could make a girl like that swoon…"

"Is she insane?"

"Loki, have you had any romantic encounters with her?"

After all the taunting and teasing that Volstagg, Hogun, Fandral, and Thor had given him while he was walking down the hallway, THAT was what made Loki turn around with the most perfect "WTF" face ever. (It even rivaled Krishna's "WTF" faces)(and Krishna's "WTF" faces were as perfect as they came). He clenched his fists together and tried to stare them all down.

"Ooh, yes. Romantic encounters."

"She seems dramatic. Was it like a dramatic performance?"

"I mean, I did not hear any screaming… but I suppose the walls are thick."

"Would it be Loki screaming or the girl?"

"Excuse me," Loki placed one hand on his chest, interrupting Thor before he could dive deeper into what Loki's screaming might sound like. All while attempting not to shudder and trying not to crack under all the pokes at his private life. "I have to go vomit now. If you'll allow me to do that…"

Then, after quieting them completely, Loki adjusted his robe, tried not to cry with embarrassment, and stormed down the hallway. The Warriors watched him until he turned the corner and disappeared. They could practically _see_ his trail of anger.

"Loki would be the one screaming." Fandral finally said, stroking his chin.

"Definitely."

* * *

_A/N: I know, usually I put these things on the top. But I thought I might as well make things fun and mix it up. Tell me what you thought about the chapter! Daphii did some fan art of her own of Krishna in her dress, which I still keep getting blown away by. Thank you so much, anyone who does fan art. That is incredible to me._

_So how did you like a stoned Krishna? And all Loki's and Krishna's drunk bantering? BEST FRIENDS EVER._

_Free cyber cookies to those for reviews! (the super delicious kind). I MADE THEM MYSELF._

_-Phan_


	15. My Guardian Demon

Upon waking up, Krishna's initial thoughts weren't those of concern. First, she took account of where she was: curled on a couch in a spacious, empty lounge. There was a large pit of ember coals centerfold in the room that the furniture was arranged around. The flickering remnants of what must have been a flame were the only things lighting the dark, enclosed room. The air was warm, the couch was soft.

After taking in _that_, Krishna realized that the glowing coals were searing her eyes. She felt like someone was shoving flashlights in her corneas, clicking them on and off and on and off and on and off and... She cringed and buried her head back under the thick silk covers to ward off some of the pain. It was in futility, though. Because a headache was storming the castle of her mind right behind her temples.

Which made it that much more difficult to avoid throwing up. The alcohol was poking around with all her squeamish organs.

Once all those impressions had the chance to introduce themselves to Krishna, said their 'hello's, they settled back and made way for the real punchline —

Cold buckets of regret poured over her in spine-chilling waves. The prancing nightmares of what she might have done in her drunken state the night before kicked her a few times in the stomach to only further stir up her nausea. And it wasn't really the regret of doing anything too scandalous or homicidal. It was the regret of not being fully sentient when it was happening.

Whatever she did the night before, she wanted to sign her name on it and hold it up for all of Asgard to see.

"You are experiencing a hangover." The foreign voice jolted Krishna out of her pity party right before she blasted open the pity piñata. She peered out from the blanket to look over at her company: Fandral, sitting opposite her on one of the other couches. "We do not have much to remedy it here on Asgard, but Loki has encountered a few of them himself."

Krishna's throat wouldn't let her answer, instead only stabbing her with its rawness when she tried. So she was left to only peer out at him with icy gray eyes and hope it did something to make him leave. Spontaneous combustion would be a nice alternative to him walking out the door.

"I know Loki has dabbled in the fields of courting strange creatures before, but never something quite like you." Fandral's eyes were locked on the black, scaly tail swaying down from out of the covers. Krishna's eyes darted to the tail for a moment before she pulled it up under the blanket. "What ARE you?"

She tucked her hands under her face, stared at him like he'd caught her secret, and said, "How much of me did you see, Fandral?"

"Enough to know you are not of Asgard." he tipped his head to one side, staring at her inquisitively. "What is your purpose for being here, demon?"

"Now, then." Krishna pushed herself to sit up; all while she warded off the violent urge to vomit in the back of her throat. "I don't think you have any room for name-calling."

"Is that what you are, then? A demon?" Fandral adjusted his position, crossed one leg over the other, and watched the girl carefully for any sign of attack. "What made you come here and have Loki fall for you? Your slights wreak of nothing but evil."

"So now I'm an _evil _demon?"

"Are you?"

Krishna's eyes glimmered with something that made Fandral regret the fact that he had come to the Warming Room alone. "Your definition of 'evil demon' might be another's definition of 'goddess.' And who are you to speak of denying demons when you have one in your midst?"

"Are you referring to Loki?"

"Who else would I be talking about?" Krish mumbled. And then, accompanied by her shoving her face into the blanket, "I'm surrounded by idiots..."

"While Loki may have an interesting sense of a moral compass, he is good in his heart." Fandral was starting to see why Sif disliked the girl so much. Even though he wasn't used to standing up for Loki, he felt inclined to. Krishna understood this allegiance as much as she understood quantum physics.

She didn't know anything about quantum physics.

"You say _that_ after everything he's done?" Krish asked as she waited for Fandral to stop with the 'Loki is good' performance. But instead of closing the curtain, he went right into the second act.

"What do you mean?" Fandral chuckled. Krishna suddenly realized he wasn't putting on a musical play after all. His face was completely serious, his tone descended into notes of concern. That, and the fact that the conversation was particularly devoid of any randomly choreographed dance numbers, told Krishna she was dealing with a different set of cards. "He hasn't done anything. Save, I suppose, a few mischievous acts. But nothing that would require any punishment."

"He hasn't done anything?" Krishna gave away her upper hand to Fandral. Her cool façade melted away in the heat of her pursuit of answers.

"Nothing at all."

All Krishna could do in that moment was nestle her face in her hands and mumble, "They've sent me too early." That thought washed over her hung-over brain, but most of it dripped off and collected in a place where it couldn't quite impact her.

"Who?" Fandral asked. "Who sent you where? Here? Why are you too early? Too early for what?"

"Don't you see?" Krish would have shouted it at the top of her lungs, but even casual chatter was giving her an earache. "Loki hasn't done anything to build up any Karma." and then, more thinking out loud rather than talking to (a very confused) Fandral, she added, "I have nothing to punish him with."

"What on Asgard are we talking about?" Fandral squeaked. It seemed like no one had the upper hand anymore. It had just disappeared between the two of them in the air. Now they were just talking to themselves.

"I wonder if," Krish trailed off, her line of vision lost completely in the searing light of the dulling embers. "I wonder if this is my way out. I can — I can get out of this mess. I don't have to..." Krishna's eyes felt glassy and slick. "I don't have to hurt him."

"I must admit," Fandral's hands went into the air in surrender, but Krish was too entranced by her thoughts to see the action. "I am utterly confused." Krishna was mumbling things to herself, which made Fandral feel like she was forming incantations to attack him. But then, in a flurry of blankets being tossed aside, Krishna flew to her feet. Fandral watched as she cringed, held her head, and then straightened back up again.

"I'm going to the library!" She declared, only the walls and Fandral as an unappealing audience. Then, wrapping the warm blanket around her shoulders, she whisked away as quickly as she could through the doorway. Leaving a semi-emotionally-scarred Fandral sitting shell-shocked, alone, in the room.

* * *

**xXxXx**

* * *

"Argh, Krish!" Loki exclaimed. "There is a ladder _right there_!"

"Yeah, but why would I use the ladder when I have_ you_ to stand on?" That was all Krishna felt she needed to justify her standing on Loki's shoulders, so she followed it up with, "Stop whining."

"I am not _whining_."

"You're whining." Krish leaned over to the right, making Loki scoot over slightly to keep his balance. He gripped onto her ankles, praying that when she fell (because the fall was inevitable), she didn't decapitate him in the process.

Krishna fingered over the many books, disappointed that half of them were war-related, and finally gave up on finding anything about loopholes. She didn't really expect to find a book telling all the secrets on how to get out of giving someone Karma when you discover you're in the wrong time frame. But, y'know, she would have been pleasantly surprised if she saw that written on one of the spines. She didn't, though, which reminded her that (among many other things) she was in it alone. She'd have to find her own way out.

"I can't find anything." Krishna huffed. She gave a quick scan over all the 'L's again.

"Well, if you would tell me what you are searching for, I think I could be of more assistance than being your footstool."

"Stop whining."

"I'm not —!" Loki sighed, and when he did a black feather drifted in front of his face. He blew it away before it could go any closer to his nose. "And, Krishna, what is it with all these black feathers all the time?"

Krish's fingers froze in the air, hovering over another book. "Black feathers?" She repeated slowly. "What about black feathers?"

"Every time I'm near you, you always leave these idiotic feathers around! Is it to announce your presence? Because, trust me," Loki's shoulders were starting to ache. "I already know you're here."

When Krishna's eyes rotated back around, they drifted off the 'L' books and locked with one in the 'O's. She could remember being taught, when she was in the presence of her Gods, about black feathers. They held some sort of significance, but she couldn't remember what. (Krish was never one of the students that listened to those kinds of things. She was always more worried about who she got to Karma-ize next). She grabbed the book of Omens and leapt off Loki's shoulders like a cat. Then she sat down right there, leaving Loki to rub his aching shoulders and go sit in one of the chairs.

Krishna thumbed through the pages frantically.

"Krishna, you're a puzzle that I haven't figured out yet." His eyes darted to the henna on the bottom of Krishna's left foot. "I'm getting more aggravated as time goes by. I want to know who you are, exactly, and I want it to come from YOUR mouth. Not from the pages of a book."

"You really think my heritage is a good chatting topic right now?" Was all that was mumbled back. Krishna continued to thin through the pages, looking for feathers.

"I think any time is a good time to discuss it." Loki replied monotonously. Krishna took a pause; it was probably to sigh or mumble something angrily at Loki. Then she, after hesitating considerably, shut the book, set it down, and vowed to return to it.

"If you'd asked me about this stuff yesterday, I'd be more willing to tell you." Krish's face was still tired and dark from pushing through her hangover, and the afternoon light filtering in the grand windows only accented her tired features. "Today things got complicated."

"Nothing I can't handle." Loki pulled out one of the chairs at a table and gestured for Krish to sit in it, but she selected her own chair. Leaving Loki's gentleman side shattered — again. He took up the chair himself and scooted into the table. Then, clasping his pale hands together, he watched Krishna intently in anticipation.

She heaved a massive sigh. "Okay, so. I'm going to give you the watered down version of my back-story. Because the original is all complicated and bloody and has lots of rituals and carvings and sacrifices..." she trailed off before waving it away with her hand.

"I can hear you," Loki then added, "I'm listening."

"Now, I'm confiding in you —"

"Finally."

"—and I'm not supposed to be. So don't judge me on anything I say, alright?"

"Never."

She sighed again, composing her thoughts and gluing them all together. "I come from the Hindu Gods. My name is actually Sadguru, but they always called me KrishnaLan because of my aching desire to be one of the higher deities. I _was_ a Goddess."

"What made it change?" Loki asked. Krishna glared at him.

"Okay, if I'm going to be telling you all this, you don't get to interrupt." Loki fell into silence and Krish continued, "I was a little too, well, too vicious to my victims. And the Gods weren't happy with it. So they took away my immortality in that form, and gave me it in another." Something changed in Krishna's eyes. "They give me particular missions. I have to give a certain person a certain amount of Karma; no more, no less. The gods have promised me that if I do my job correctly, they'll give me back my free immortality."

Loki raised his hand. He waited there, silently asking permission to talk. Krishna looked up at it, then looked at him.

"What?"

"I was one of those missions, wasn't I?" Loki asked casually. Krishna would have expected more anger to seep from his voice, but all his tone reflected was sincere understanding. Krishna looked down at her lap, feeling ashamed and embarrassed, and, assuming Loki already knew the answer to his question, continued on.

"I have these chains of Karma weighing me down, now. I'm imprisoned with my own wrongdoings." She mumbled down at her hands. And then, even quieter, she added, "I can't get out."

"So cut the chain."

"The chain has grown too thick to cut." Krishna smiled sadly. "When I do something right, the Gods take away one link. When I do something wrong, they add twenty. And this — you — were my last chance at redemption. They've grown tired of me, and they've run out of links to add."

"What made you change?" Loki whispered, tilting his head down so she was forced to look at him. But her eyes flickered away. She felt disgusting now, now that the pretty coat of lies was stripped away from her. And the last thing she wanted to do was make eye contact with Loki. "Why did you decide to tell this to me and..." Loki paused, leaving Krishna the room to jump in.

"Because you accessed my trust." She said simply. Loki's eyes widened when she used his analogy from the dressing room."And you brought something else with you. I've never felt so close to someone I hardly knew in all my lives. I've never opposed the vicious cycle they've always put me in. Give me a mission, I fail, they kill me off. But, more than anything, I want to stay in this form. Here."

There was a long pause where neither of them said anything. Krishna traced the shadows from the window on the table with her fingers. Loki stared at her for what must have been only a few seconds, but in that sliver of a moment he started to see the girl across from him in a new light. He felt a strange desire to reach out and take her hand. But he wasn't used to feelings like that, so he ignored it and hoped it went away.

Then he had the desire to lighten the mood.

Now that? That he would do.

"Speaking of 'lives'…" Loki hummed.

"Oh, no." Krishna slammed her head into the table.

"Are you…" Loki took great care in deciding how he was going to phrase the next question. He puffed up his cheeks, released the air slowly, and fidgeted with a piece of his clothing. "Are you usually female?"

Krishna, much to Loki's discord, snorted and looked up to face him.

"Loki," Her eyes finally locked with his, and it made his stomach jerk. "I promise you my favorite, and most common gender, is female."

"Most common?" Loki's eyebrow arched into his forehead. He was suddenly humored by the whole situation, especially since Krishna was becoming more uncomfortable. "So you've been male before?"

"I'm reincarnated into whatever form is most attractive to my target," Krish fidgeted with her fingers. "And, and why are you talking about _me_, Loki? I've done some research of _you _too. And you've been incarnated as a chick in the past."

Loki's face flattened back out. "I've suddenly grown tired of this conversation."

"Oh," Krish chuckled, "And I'm suddenly warming up to it."

Loki tried to stand up to make his escape from what would develop into him going bright red, but Krishna only skipped after him. She'd completely forgotten about the book of Omens. Now her only goal was to make Loki blush violently. She scurried along behind him in the hallway.

"Hey, Loki, you wanna talk about that eight-legged-horse thing?" Krish smirked. Loki shoved her away by her face, but she only snapped back up to poke him in the stomach. "Father of an eight-legged… NO WAIT… _MOTHER_ of an eight-legged-horse!"

"Krishna, stop your trivial insults."

"Loki, _make_ me."

Much to the shock of the taunting Hindu icon, Loki snapped around and grabbed Krishna's upper arm in his hand. She gave an exclamation of surprise as he lifted her up by it to have her face next to his. They looked at each other for a long moment; then Krishna's face relaxed and her classic sneer snuck back onto her mouth.

"Do you want to see my ancient form?" She asked quietly.

"Do I want to?"

But Krishna didn't wait for Loki's complete permission. She never did. Impatience was _her_ virtue. She yanked her arm away from Loki, stepped back a little in the hallway, and raised one eyebrow mischievously.

"Krishna," Loki held up his hands to stop her, "I'd rather not have nightmares."

"Too late."

And she changed. Loki took a few steps back instinctively as her body completely shifted. Her skin darkened and turned black, scaly, and thick. Her fingers lengthened into reptilian claws, twitching at the chance to reach out and encase any prey in her cold hands. But it was her face that Loki was focused on. Her eyes caved in and the leather-like black skin wrapped over the sockets, leaving her without eyes at all. Her mouth dropped into a huge, gaping hole; it was filled with layers of sharp, stark white fangs that shifted slightly when she moved. And her tongue. ITS tongue. She didn't appear female at all – not anymore. But the tongue lengthened dramatically, and writhed out of its mouth elegantly, dripping saliva onto the stone floor of the hallway.

KrishnaLan stood a foot taller than Loki now, that tongue twisting around. It nearly touched his face, but he leaned back and it barely hovered over the skin of his cheek.

"How…" Loki whispered, wondering if it was still Krishna's consciousness. He saw the henna markings, still, but they looked more like scars imbedded in the scales. They didn't belong there at all. They weren't natural; they were flaws. "How do you see?"

It turned its head slightly to the side, a clicking emanating from the fanged mouth. Loki was still looking at where its eyes should have been. And then, as if the appearance wasn't enough to freak him out, she talked.

"I _feel_," Her voice was the voice of several different reincarnations meshing together in a clashing melody. Some of them sounded lonely. Others sounded pained and dark. Loki could hardly pick out the voice of the Krishna HE knew, but it was still there.

It was in the moment that Krishna was mutating back down to herself (and laughing maniacally) that Loki realized –

Between 'absolutely terrifying' and 'carnivorously attractive…'

She was carnivorously attractive.

All the way.

* * *

**xXxXx**

* * *

Nighttime.

Krish loved nighttime.

Krish liked doing things in the dead of night. In the middle of the night is the time when everyone, even if they aren't sleeping, is settled and quiet. It was the time when she could rely on more than just herself to stay hidden, she could count on the darkness as well. The quiet. It was when her ears were keened and sharpened to hear any threat.

She remembered, down on Midgard where she was growing in her current form, playing games during the full moon to see how many people she could kill without them making noises. Her record was 6 in a row. Sometimes, that required slaughtering dozens.

But she didn't have a choice, it was just her job. Each of her victims had built up the Karma and she had the sworn duty to give it to them.

It wasn't entirely her fault if she enjoyed it.

In the dark of night was where Krish found herself, sneaking back down to the library. She avoided the sections of torchlight as she scurried along, moving past the guards silently. She slipped through the doors without making more than a few whispered curses.

Then she fell over on her back, picked up the Book of Omens, and flicked through it again. She was exhausted from the events of the day. But now her shoulders felt released of their burden. Even though the fear of what the Gods would do was sneaking on to replace that burden.

"There it is. Hello, black feathers. I believe I've found you." She flipped over on her stomach to see the words in the dulling torchlight, and she read -

_To find a dark feather is an omen that the guardian of your soul is near you. Your safe keeper, your angel. And, above all, the one that can bring you the most suffering. _

She read the words again.

_The guardian of your soul. _

Krishna shut the book and held it against her chest.

"Heavens above." She muttered softly. "I'm the guardian of Loki's soul."

* * *

_A/N: If you plan on following the story (which, my goodness, if you've stuck with me all this time, I can't express my thanks), be prepared for some plot. Y'know, if this much plot wasn't enough for you. xD I guess we'll see how it goes. I'm, personally, very excited. _

_I hope you all got your fill of cyber cookies, you definitely deserved them. Now, if you review, feel free to take a complimentary soap basket. _

_I've always loved soap baskets. _

_-Phan_


	16. Strange Encounters of the Loki Kind

_Quick A/N: My PMessaging is down for some reason, my computer's been super glitchy. Otherwise I would have sent you all very lengthy, personalized thank yous. I wanted to thank you (Yes YOU. Sitting THERE) for your fantastic feedback. I couldn't have ever asked for something so wonderful. The plot's still twisting along. But here._

_Have some fluff._

* * *

"The girl is a part of the court now!" Thor slammed one massive hand down on the table. Volstagg turned his gaze away. He was a neutral party in the debate; the last thing he wanted was to get completely involved. "Volstagg, what say you in the matter?" And out the window 'don't get involved' went.

"Uh..." Volstagg looked briefly over those gathered in the room. Hogun, who was picking over the decorative fruits on the table; Loki, looking particularly apathetic on the steps as he traced the light on the floor with his foot; Fandral and Sif glaring him down immensely, and Thor (who was the main person dealing with the case). "I think we should ask Loki!" Volstagg suddenly declared, gesturing grandly over to the Darker Prince, who looked up with an exhausted face and said —

"Wait, what?"

"Yes, Loki!" Thor seemed to shout everything up to the vaulted ceilings, and just like Loki, the ceilings didn't appreciate him shouting."I suppose since you are the one courting her..."

"To be clear," Loki knew reasoning wasn't going to be his ally in this war being waged against him, but he thought he might try it, "KrishnaLan and I aren't really courting, persay —"

"Do you think we should take her along with us?" Thor was sick of all the beating around the bush. So he jumped right to the catch, smashed the bush right on the head, and left Loki with very wide eyes and a slightly open mouth. He tensed his jawline before finally admitting —

"I'm going to be honest here." Loki put his hands in the air. "I heard nothing of this conversation. I have no idea what's going on." Really, Loki had been too focused Krishna. Her heritage, her super creepy ancient form, her mission to punish him. Punish him for what, though? He supposed it didn't matter, not anymore. Since, if Krishna stayed true to the impression she was giving him, she had a change of feelings. Maybe Loki had a change of feelings too — he knew something was different, he knew Krishna made him feel weird, but he couldn't quite stick a pin in it.

If he could stick a pin in it, he would have popped this whole thing a long time ago.

And why did it feel like he still didn't know her? He felt so at peace when he was around her (which just seemed wrong, because the last thing he wanted to do around Krishna was let his guard slip) and yet he didn't know where specifically she came from. Maybe he didn't need to know where she came from to know how he felt about her.

Leading off from that tree was the branch of thought that kept his mind occupied a lot recently: if he had feelings for her, how was he supposed to tell her without being laughed at? Or shanked? Or skinned, disemboweled, impaled, have Krish playing with his intestines —

"So what think you, Loki?" It was the booming of Thor's voice that shook Loki off his train of thought.

"Tell me what's going on and I'll tell you how I feel." Loki sneered back. He didn't know how long he'd spaced out there for. A good ten seconds, maybe. They all stared at him inquisitively, making him think it was more than ten seconds. And he got the sudden feeling he was an animal in a display exhibit in a zoo.

Which was interesting.

Loki didn't even know what a zoo was.

"Brother, I _just _told you," Thor said slowly. "I just told you _everything_."

"In overly descriptive detail." Sif added in from the back. And once Loki got through with Sif's and his miniature staring showdown, he went back to the controversial debate. The debate that Loki still didn't know anything about.

"I—" Loki rummaged around desperately for any kind of excuse for his spacing out into the deep abyss of thought. He hadn't really quite surfaced from that abyss yet.

"He's smitten over the girl, that's why." Hogun peeped up from the back.

"Excuse me," Loki leaned over to get a better view of his attacker. Hogun perked up eagerly, waiting for Loki to hurl whatever insult at him. "Why is it that whatever comes out of _your_ mouth is something directly targeting _my_ love life?"

"So it _is_ a love life!"

"I KNEW IT!"

"So were you the one screaming then, Loki?"

"Dear Gods! Would you just tell me what's going on!" Loki screamed. And Thor was just about to settle into another long bout of explanation (with diagrams, pie charts, and the like) (if those things were available on Asgard), but Sif cut him off in the hopes of sparing herself from another lecture.

"We're going on a horseback trip through a nearby settle of forestry." Sif said simply, making Thor wonder 'why didn't I think to explain it like that?' "And the current situation is whether or not we bring KrishnaLan along with us." Loki narrowed his eyes at the bitterness dripping off Sif's voice.

"I say we just ask the girl if she wants to come."

"Are you jesting? Have you seen how hostile she is?"

"We could send Loki as a messenger. If he died, it wouldn't be a grand loss."

"Ah, true. Very true."

"Excuse me!" Loki screamed again. When all five heads snapped to look at him in sync, he jumped slightly. Gathering his composure, he continued, "I think you told me about this to ask my o_pinion_, not to randomly go off and sign me up for slaughter!"

"You know her better than any of us." Fandral reasoned, earning a few hums of agreement and a pat on the back from Thor. "All you have to do is ask her, very kindly so you aren't torn apart, if she'd like to come with us."

"And what if _I_ do not even want to come?" Loki's low grumble earned him nothing but horrendously appalled glares from the others. Fandral almost seemed like he was prepared to burst into tears. After finally consenting to attend the trip, and then consenting to go ask Krishna, it was those very glares that finally pushed him out of the room.

Along with Fandral's almost tear-filled face.

* * *

xXxXx

* * *

She knew how to fricking hide.

Loki looked extensively for Krishna before he actually ended up finding her. After he ascended all the grand stairs to get to his room, only to see she wasn't there, he decided (while walking back _down_ all the stairs) he was going to have a tracker installed in her brain. Or he was going to have her on a leash tied to his wrist. He could keep her as his 'cute-in-a-not-cute-way demonic, scaly, dripping saliva all over his shoes' pet.

And then he would rename her Fluffy.

But before Loki could let those thoughts scar him too much, he walked in the library to finally see Fluffy herself. She was crashed on the library floor, surrounded by open dog-eared books, stray papers, and loose writing quills. One of which had been thrown against the wall and exploded in an inky rage. Creating a beautiful splatter of black that the servants would just be _super happy_ to deal with. The papers were all full of writing, making Krishna resort to writing on her already-henna-decorated arms. So now there was a mess of black ink all over the beautiful workings of henna.

Loki tipped his head to one side and watched her for a moment, very peaceful looking. Unlike the last time he saw her sleeping, this time she was _actually _asleep. Any time the light would shift to be on her face, Krishna would grumble in her sleep and move away. As much as Loki wanted to shout her back into consciousness, maybe even kick her back, he couldn't bring himself to actually do it.

He scooted a few of the books out of the way with his foot and crouched down next to the splayed out frame of Krishna. A black, scaly tail was twitching behind her, undulating and curling elegantly in a very feline way. When Loki reached out and touched her cheek, her tail calmed considerably. What was it about this delicately dangerous person that kept him wanting more? He didn't feel an overarching need to protect her — she could do that by herself — but…

"Krishna, wake up." He said softly, taking his fingers from her skin. She didn't respond at all, if only to grumble a little and curl away from him. Loki glanced over her work from the previous night. But he couldn't read any of it because it was written in a mess of the bold lines and curls that made up the Hindi language. The books lying there were interesting, varied selections that weren't related (as far as he knew) to each other.

"I'm serious. Get up." And when she didn't even respond to that (and Loki was pretty sure that little vixen was awake now), he had no other choice, really.

He picked up one of the books (one of the heavier ones)…

…and dropped it on her tail.

The scream that ripped from Krishna's throat as she raged to sit up was absolutely inhuman. She glared at Loki with completely darkened eyes as she picked up her tail and searched the scales for any damage.

All Loki did was point at it and say – "I like your tail." Quickly followed up with, "How did you keep that hidden from me all this time? I suppose it would fit comfortably in your inflated pants. Did you choose to have that in your present body?"

"I've always had my tail." Krishna rubbed her eyes, simultaneously rubbing away the anger she built up. "I even gave it a name."

"And that would be?"

"Vladmir."

Loki couldn't decide how he wanted to respond to that, and the only thing that he could get to seep out of his mouth was, "Ah."

"Do you have any reason for coming here or can I go back to sleep?"

"You need to come with me." Loki stood up and straightened his back. "I am being forced to go on a horse trip with Sif, the Three, and Thor. I am not going to suffer alone."

"Horseback riding?"

"Yes."

"No." Krishna denied, making Loki give an exasperated sigh as she began clearing the floor around her to lie back down. But when she reached the book of Omens to shove it out of the way, she paused for a long moment. And suddenly, a huge weight of responsibility was poured over her shoulders. She remembered who she was to Loki, what she was supposed to do.

Super weird to go from 'I need to hurt him' to 'I need to protect him' in 24 hours.

Protect his soul from what, though?

Whatever it was, it made her feel like his superior. And with all their bantering, feeling like Loki's superior was awesome. Even if she wasn't. She could pretend.

"Okay, never mind. I'm coming. If I don't protect your sorry carcass, who will?" She reasoned. Loki's eyebrows furrowed together.

"What?"

"Nothing." She scrambled to her feet, grabbed Loki's hand, and pulled him for the door. "Come on."

* * *

xXxXx

* * *

"She's remarkably calm with the animals, isn't she?"

"Yes, but have you seen her tail?"

"She isn't really hiding it anymore."

"You think she'll be leaving soon?"

"I live in hope." That final nasty word from Sif ended the gossip between the Warriors Three like someone was decapitated. They went quiet and looked down at the manes of their steeds, waiting for someone else to break the silence and put the head back on the conversation.

"Why are we waiting?" Thor trotted by on his horse, stopping particularly close to Krishna, who was stroking the nose of Loki's animal gently. She stopped humming to it long enough to reply.

"Loki's taking a while. Don't ask me why, I don't know." And then she went back to stroking the horse's nose and humming. Speak of the devil, Loki stumbled into the courtyard, pulling up one of his boots. Krishna gave him a glance, but left the others to confront him.

"Where. Were. You?" Thor said each word with careful sharpness, making sure to give a distinct pause after each one for full impact. Loki's eyes darted to Krishna petting his animal affectionately, then back to Thor.

"I was fixing my hair." He said simply, his eyes flickering and showing the nervousness hidden behind them. Having all the others above him made him feel strange. So he slid next to Krishna so he wasn't alone on ground level. She nudged him away, though.

"Ah, of course."

"Should have guessed."

"Loki and his hair."

The chitchat was silenced again by one of Sif's decapitating glares. Loki ran one hand over the mane of his horse before sidling next to it, boosting himself up and swinging one leg over its back.

"Hey, hey Loki." He didn't want to turn around to look at Krishna when she asked for his attention, but he did anyway. She tapped the horse's nose and said, "Let's talk about the eight-legged-horse thing again." Loki's 'willing to let Krishna in' face devolved back into 'shut up.'

Krishna's tail flicked around when the smirk painted on her face intensified.

"Wait, hang on…" Krish stepped back when Loki gripped the reigns and pulled his horse to go join the others; also an action that got him away from the girl that kept making Svaoilfari/Sleipnir jokes. "What am I supposed to ride on?." Apparently no one had an answer to that. Except Thor. He trotted around again, his own glorious hair rivaling the shimmery coat of his steed (while simultaneously leaving Krishna entranced by it).

"You can ride with Loki."

Which made Krishna and Loki make eye contact. The latter turned away quickly, but Krish's smirk didn't leave her face as she relished in his embarrassment. Who else was gunning to ruin the moment than Sif? She almost seemed to have a negation right up her sleeve.

"Two on a horse will slow us down." She muttered, quickly yanking the negation out of its hiding place in her cuff. "This was supposed to be a pleasant ride, Thor."

"Yeah," Krishna agreed with Sif purely to spite her. And the spite did its job well. Sif was practically fuming at the ears. Krishna was pretty sure if she said much else to Sif, the warrior woman would explode. So, in the hopes that the courtyard would be painted with the colors of Sif's detonated innards, Krish continued. "Besides, I can't kick Loki's trash at a race if we're sharing a horse."

She was dissatisfied when Sif remained very-not-exploded.

"Is that a challenge?" Loki chuckled at her attempt at intimidation, rearing his steed around so its nose was facing Krishna again. "Because my riding skills are far superior to yours."

"We'll see." Krish still figured out some way to make Loki feel like she was looking down on him. Even though he was the one several feet in the air. Maybe it might have had something to do with the way she turned her nose up, or the way she held her posture.

"There are many spare horses in the stables." Thor quieted Sif's temper with the look he sent jabbing her way. "Someone could escort Krishna…" when Thor said her name, Sif sneered. Krish sneered back. "…to select one."

"Who's that someone going to be?"

And all eyes snapped to look at Loki, who was slouched over and picking at his thumb. He did a double take, realized everyone was staring at him, and cried out –

"But! But I just got on my horse!"

"You're the one courting her."

"We aren't - !" After a strong inner pep-talk, Loki groaned and swung down from his comfortable position. "Come on, Krishna." He stormed ahead, leaving Krishna to saunter behind happily. And right when Loki thought they might be able to make their escape without being confronted again –

"Brother, escort the maiden properly." Thor instructed.

Loki's face bloomed into a mess of pinks and reds, a color show that Krishna alone could enjoy. Her green eyes thinned mischievously. Green eyes, for some reason, were ideal for making mischievous expressions.

"Yeah, Loki." She mocked, relishing in the deeper reds that took over his face. "Escort me _properly_." Even when Loki broke down and started gritting his teeth, the blushing wouldn't stave away. He could feel all sets of eyes watching the back of his neck, crawling over his shoulders. He hesitated before holding out a shaking arm to Krishna. Thor smiled warmly when Krishna rested her hand on the crook of the embarrassed prince's arm, whispered something in his ear, and glanced back at the others. Then, as quickly as he could, Loki walked the two of them out of the courtyard to head for the royal stables.

Even though they were out of the sights of the others, Loki kept silent with his head down. Then Krishna did something unexpected.

She was feeling at least the closet thing she could feel to guilt; guilt wasn't something she was used to. And really, she didn't like it. In the hopes that the action would make up for some of the slime encompassing her feelings, Krishna stretched up and kissed Loki's cheek softly.

His eyes widened.

Krishna cussed less-than-quietly and turned away.

"You're blushing." Loki said, keeping his eyes straight ahead. His face was going back to normal, and if he looked down at his companion he knew that the color would come back. "Have you ever blushed before?"

She refused to give him a direct answer, and while brushing her black hair behind her ear stated, "I don't like it."

When Loki chuckled softly, Krish's face heated a little more. "That's adorable."

"It's strange." She retorted, glancing off to some of the foliage on the side. The pathway to the stables was something she, amid all her sneaking and conniving, never went on. It was particularly lush, full of overlapping foliage that spilled onto the cobblestone pavilion. Like it was reaching out for whatever feet walked by.

The blossoms on the plants, in themselves, created a dense aroma. Once Krish pushed through a few sneezes (Midgard allergies were something that plagued her) she came to appreciate the smell in conservative sniffs. Whenever Krish came up to a plant that was slipping too far out on the cobblestone, she would gingerly step over it with her bare feet. Some plants were hanging over the pathway from aerial points, plants that Krishna had never seen anything close to before. Huge, soft-petal flowers in a variety of shapes and colors, and all this enclosed within the confines of the palace.

Krishna held her other hand on Loki's arm as she ducked under one of these suspended flowers.

"Strange, then, blushing is?" Loki's voice seemed strange after Krishna had been lost in her thoughts.

"Very strange." Krish replied, not thinking much of it (not thinking much of anything) as they rounded into the stables. She wanted to enjoy the company of Loki, because she didn't know how much longer she would have it. She needed to get out.

She felt like she was clawing constantly in the dark in the hopes that she would stumble upon a loophole. With the Gods constantly wandering the dark with torches to find her. She didn't really care what it took, she didn't care who she pissed off in the process, she wanted out. Loki was too much for her. He compromised her.

And what was it about her being his soul's guardian? How was she supposed to work that? What did it even mean? All her research did for her was give her a migraine and send her into bouts of tear-filled breakdowns. She couldn't remember the last time she'd cried like she'd been crying recently – when she was alone.

"I believe I'm going to make it more strange, then." Loki stopped abruptly, leaving Krishna to watch him carefully.

"Why?" She asked.

"Because of all our intimate moments, you've always been the one to initiate them. And, personally, I feel like you're stealing what should have been my flame. I haven't taken a single opportunity to initiate anything. What with the hugs and the —"

"You want to know why I always steal your thunder?" Krish tiptoed in front of Loki to face him head-on. "Because you talk way too much. I mean, you're always going on and on in your fluent verbosity and I'm sitting there, trying to pick apart what you're saying, hardly getting the definition of some words —"

"Look at the one talking now." Loki raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, please. Don't even —"

"Krishna, shut up."

"Loki, don't tell me what to do."

"Fine."

Before Krishna had the opportunity to rise up with another jab to Loki's integrity (and she had a good one coming, too) he took her face in his hands and leaned down toward her. When their mouths met, locked together perfectly in a soft harmony, it wasn't fireworks that happened at all.

It was peace.

All the emotions Krishna had been raging a war against, the thoughts that concerned her feelings toward the God of Mischief, were brought to the surface. He wasn't a God in that moment though, and she wasn't a troubled Goddess/Demon/psychopath. They were just two people, trying in desperation to understand the other. And even though both of them were failing in that, in understanding, neither of them cared.

Krishna held gently to Loki's wrists (since she felt inclined to do something with her hands) and let the butterflies tickling around her stomach grow in swarms.

Loki pulled away gently, easing his mouth away from hers, and flickered his eyes open. He looked slightly confused. And Krishna, who was riding on a super high at that moment, suddenly became very self-conscious.

"W-what?" She looked behind her. "Is it my tail or did I —"

"You're very sweet," Loki said, easing Krishna's fear as he brushed his tongue over the corner of his mouth.

"Yeah, I've been..." Krish laughed at herself and her fears when Loki was just commenting on the way she tasted. "I've been eating a lot of cherries recently."

"I can tell." When Loki broke into a smile, relief washed over Krishna in waves.

"I liked that."

"As did I."

"I've never really," Krish looked at the ground and rubbed the back of her neck. "Well, I've never really..." She sighed as she sifted along her thoughts and tried to pick out what she wanted to say. She looked back up at Loki and stated, very simply, "Thank you."

"What drives your thanks?"

"For... Well, this is cheesy, but I guess..." She sighed again, mumbled a few cusses under her breath, and said (very quickly so she could get it over with), "Thank you for accepting me."

"You're still very strange." Loki offered his arm to Krishna, she took it, and they continued their walk into the stables.

"I know that." Krish chuckled.

"Horrifying."

"Know that too."

"Sometimes a little childish."

"Well..."

"Constantly annoying."

"Watch it."

"However," Loki continued, hoping his remarks didn't sit too sourly with Krishna, "You've grown on me." Krishna didn't really smile, rather, she sighed. Just more complications to throw into the pot. What was she supposed to do?

"But enough with all that sentiment," Loki brushed it all away, relieving Krishna immensely. But she let the butterflies stay. Because she liked them. In fact, if she could, she probably would have fed them all and given them names. "The others are probably eating themselves with impatience. We have to pick you a horse."

Oh, yes. Krishna had forgotten she was going on an adventure on horseback. Where she would attempt to kick Loki's trash at horseracing, see how much she could annoy Sif, and try to get Fandral back on her good side (because he had some weapons Krishna wanted to see a little closer). A big task to take on.

The horse ride would also prove to be the thing that unveiled her loophole. But not in the ways she would prefer.

Near-death experiences weren't Krishna's forte.

But she didn't know anything about that, yet. All she could think about were the butterflies in her stomach.

And how much she liked them.

* * *

_A/N: Fluff, fluff, fluff..._

_The other A/N: I just wanted to briefly thank you again. It still means the world to me that you're reading my story. I'm completely blown away. And, also, I wanted to clear up something that was brought up by **EvilsApprectice'**s review. :) KrishnaLan means 'little Krishna.' They called her that because she always wanted to be like the bigger Krishna. Her real name is Sadguru. I explained it (well, technically, Krish explained it) briefly in the last chapter, but it was in the dialogue so it would be easy to miss. :) I also took some writer's license by expanding her character, powers, appearance and whatnot to make a more relatable and original OC. Sadguru was never fully explained in the Hindu culture, which is why I found her (it) to be such an appealing character. _

_I hope that helps. _

**_I'm invested in this story like you wouldn't believe. It's so much fun to write. Hold on tight for next chapter. Plot. _**

_I'm very glad you were all pleased with your soap baskets. But don't use the strawberry stuff. I found out this morning that it's toxic... heh... _

_Reviews are welcome! I made cyber cotton candy for all reviewers to go along with the fluff thing. And it's NOT poisoned. _

_Maybe. _

_-Phan_


	17. Kali's Temper Tantrum

_A/N: PLEASE READ THE LAST CHAPTER. It's very important to this one. **So if you haven't read that one, please do.** And I would love it if you could review that one. It was one of my favorites and I'd like your thoughts on it. :) _

_And you have to know what's going on in that one before this one. xD It's short, but important. _

_Yes indeed. I did update twice today. _

* * *

"This is a disaster."

"You're always so negative, Kali. Look more on the bright side."

"Who are you to be speaking like a mortal, Radha?" Kali's face was painted with the darkest expressions she could muster. She was fretting excessively, but showing it through her blistering anger. That was how Kali worked. "Haven't you been watching her like you should be?'

"Of course I am." Radha crossed the white space to stand next to Kali, who was peering down into a basin of water that allowed her to view Krishna. She, unlike the higher Gods and Goddesses didn't have the ability of Eternal Sight and was left to resort to trivial things like water basins. Her main two hands were clutching onto the sides of the basin as she glared down at the shapes of Krishna and Loki. "Maybe this is good for the child, Kali."

Child.

Another word the Gods used to describe little Krishna. Which Krishna personally thought was ridiculous – she was hundreds of years old. But compared to the other Gods, she supposed, she was nothing at all.

"Good for KrishnaLan and her disgusting motives, maybe. But not for any of us." Kali spat darkly. "She wasn't supposed to find out about her guardian role to Loki."

"She wasn't supposed to fall in love with him, either." Radha sighed dreamily and peered down into the water. She was always one for love, nomatter who it was. "But look what's happened." Kali reared up to give Radha's round, crimson face the most appalled look.

"Radha, KrishnaLan is supposed to be in exile. She's supposed to be fulfilling her duties, not falling in _love _with them." Kali spat, upset that she seemed to be the only one taking the Krishna thing seriously. "Highness, I beg your indulgence for me to visit her again."

"What, so you can slice through her skin and grip onto her spine?" Radha's glistening eyes darkened as much as they were able. The intricate jewels around her ankles, wrists, and forehead chimed when she walked away from Kali. "Absolutely not. You do not have my permission."

"I could seek permission from Krishna Allah."

Radha turned around when her partner was mentioned. "Krishna will not grant it without my approval as well."

"I could try."

"Kali, I would have you remember," Radha turned to face her head-on, "I am your superior. And I will not have you speaking to me in such ways."

"And what now? KrishnaLan knows that she's to be guarding Loki's soul. How do you expect her to fulfill her duties now? Radha, what if she joins with him and accesses her potential like we've feared?"

"We sent her into exile for more than her rebellion, Kali. She cannot gain her complete power in her current mindframe."

"You were always too gentle on KrishnaLan." Despite the threat in Radha's voice, Kali continued to push her luck. "And now you are considering releasing her from her duties altogether. For what? _Love?"_

"Little Krishna will absolutely not be released from her obligations," Radha said professionally, and Kali couldn't help but smile, "And if she decides to take the path of love, she and her lover will suffer the darkest consequences. You will only be a part of such consequence deliverance if you remember your place."

"Yes, Radha." Kali dropped to her knees to bow before her, that smirk plastered on her face. Like slime. Disgusting, sticky slime as the thoughts of punishment to KrishnaLan danced through her head. "I remember my place."

And down on Asgard, Krishna's palms were feeling itchy.


	18. Impatient Horse for an Impatient Girl

The group learned something about Krishna: she knew nothing about riding horses. Nothing. They learned this after they'd set off, only to notice that Krishna wasn't with them, then to have Sif give a lecture on why they should leave her altogether. But Thor wouldn't allow it. So they drew straws, Loki ended up with the short one, and he had to go back to rescue the non-equine-knowledgeable girl.

Super condensed riding lesson number one was, "Krishna, yelling at the horse will not make it move."

Waiting to get the show on the road gave the others the perfect window to do a little more gossiping. Aside from the guards, they tended to gossip the most. Sif was the first to start it all off. She was never shy about voicing her opinion on anything. Particularly if her opinion was against something.

"I am considering confronting the All-Father about her," Sif stroked the neck of her tawny colored horse, feeling particularly upset that Krishna had chosen a horse of the same color. "She makes me feel more uneasy with each passing day."

"Would you not think that speaking to Odin would be a bit drastic, Sif?" Volstagg gave his try at siding with Krishna, but the glares that were rocketed his way made him shrink back. "I suppose the girl could be risky, in her own sense, but Loki has taken a liking to her —"

"Loki's appetites have always been dangerous." But before Sif was given the opportunity to list off a few of these 'disastrous appetites,' Fandral steered back on topic.

"I think speaking with Odin is a wise idea." Fandral agreed, trotting over to stand his horse next to Sif. "If anything, it would make me feel more comfortable. If he decided to allow her to stay, then the matter is settled. But if not, we would be more the intelligent to be rid of her."

"Be _rid _of her?" Thor spat, silencing the others. They'd almost forgotten the golden haired prince was still there. But he was still there, and he was ready to defend Krishna by whatever means. Since no one else was going to, he felt inclined. "It was only a few nights ago that all of you, save Sif, were fond of the girl. What has caused your sudden rebellion?"

"She's showing more of who she really is, Thor." Fandral spoke up before Sif could tear out someone's throat, "And yet we still know nothing about her. Have you seen her tail?"

All of the eyes darted over to Krishna and Loki, the latter of which was trying to teach the former all the condensed riding lessons he could remember. They looked at Krishna's tail, the slickly scaled thing flicking behind her in frustration.

"It's just a tail," Thor chuckled. "I know many species that have tails. And all of them are within our range of knowledge. Stop being so skeptical, friends."

"She's a demon." Sif just came right out and said it. Back to the whole 'voicing opinions' thing. Sif's eyes were thinned, something that set off her slick black hair in a way that made the others shift a little. The brash statement that made the others turn away made Thor look straight at her. He glared down those thin eyes.

"And something I know about demons," Thor said cautiously, "Is that they do not take well to gossiping." Fandral's head went even lower as he tried to get away from the sticky situation. So instead he was trying to count the hairs on the mane of his horse. _One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine… _"You would all do well to keep your petty commentary about the girl to yourself. In case she is the demon you claim her to be. An angry demon is not something you want on your hands. And you, Sif. I suggest you try all you can to befriend the 'devil girl.' You've done much to offend her."

…_sixteen, seventeen, eighteen, nineteen, twenty…_

Sif was very close to objecting, but she bit her tongue. She focused intently on the metal intricacies adorning Thor's horse.

_...thirty-three, thirty-four, thirty-five..._

Before long, Loki's shiny black steed sidled up to the rest of the group. It whinnied a little, making Loki tense his hold on the straps, before brushing its nose in the grass. "She's finally figured out how to make it move." Loki said, only a few minutes of trying to teach something to Krishna having an obvious effect on his demeanor. (The gray, sickly lines under his eyes spoke volumes). Almost as if that was her cue to be called on stage, Krishna trotted up on the horse that she'd hardly learned to control.

"This isn't so hard," she said. Even though her being jittery (and after muttering "this thing is going to get me killed.") didn't really back up her words. "I don't know what you were complaining about."

Loki scoffed. "Says the one who took five minutes to understand where to put her feet."

"Well maybe if you weren't such a numbskull…."

"Perhaps if the student deflated the air from her head…"

"Maybe if the teacher stopped being all depressing like Batman…"

"I do not know what that implies, but I gather it was an insult."

"Good job, Sherlock."

"Stop making unforeseeable references."

"I do what I want." Krish smirked, turning her horse and starting into the forest. This left Loki's ego crushed and his mouth wide open.

"That's…!" He called after her with as much volume as he could muster. He reared his horse around and galloped after her, leaving the others to watch in silence. "KrishnaLan, you filthy thief, that was MY line!"

"We should probably follow them so one doesn't kill the other."

"Probably."

* * *

**xXxXx**

* * *

"I spy..." was the only thing the group heard for well over an hour. When Volstagg trotted away from the pack to distance himself from it, Krishna only screamed louder to make sure he heard it through the foliage. It was a constant stream of "I spy. I spy something green, guys. No seriously, guys. I spy something green. I spy, I SPY." This would continue until someone had the nerve to guess what she was spying. (And she was always spying the same thing.)(Trees. It was the trees). Then the cycle was left to start over again, occasionally interrupted by Loki proclaiming he was going to kill someone.

Through this, the group learned something else about the devil-tailed girl. Something that Loki knew all-too-well: Krish became _very_ bored _very_ easily. So the group stopped, Loki drew the short straw (again), and he was forced (via drawing the short straw) to ride with Krishna a little distance away from the others and keep her distracted.

Which proved to be a challenge.

The only thing that held her attention for more than three seconds were insults.

And during those three seconds, Loki feared for his life. So he was careful with the degrading things he sent traipsing her way. Because Krishna would be very eager to slaughter those insults where they stood, only to turn and slaughter the origin of them. The last thing Loki needed was to be slaughtered. It didn't sound fun, it didn't look like fun, and it probably wouldn't smell like fun, so he was left to assume one thing:

It wasn't fun.

Loki tried to remain as general with his insults as he could. In order to avoid being slaughtered.

"You couldn't ride a horse to save your life." Loki said, twirling the hay from the straw-drawing in one hand. Krishna kept both of her hands tight on the reigns. "If I was not here to assist you, imagine all the horrible situations you would ride into."

"It's not like you're holding my hand, Loki. Stop taking all the credit."

"I would not hold your hand anyway."

"Oh, right." Krish chuckled. She leaned over slightly to see a thin pathway through the forestry a little better. If she had time before she left, she wanted to come back out and walk through all those little paths. The settle of trees the riding party was going through was stunning. Krishna hadn't seen such beautiful trees before. The bark was a deep-set palate of reddish browns, accented by thin strips of gold. This led up to the long branches, which stretched up to the sky like they were easing their trunks from rest. That display of push-and-pull movement in the solidity of the branches was multiplied. Hundreds of those trees stretched in front of them. If Krishna squinted, she could see past those trees. The massive golden gates that lead out to the rainbow bridge, and what Krishna could only assume was the Asgard equivalent of the sea. An ocean that stretched out to be cut off abruptly and drop into a tangled mess of nebulas and space-matter.

"So you wouldn't hold my hand," Krish thought aloud. Loki sighed and rolled his head back. "...but you were _totally_ up for kissing me."

"A meaningless display of affection." Loki brushed the comment away fluidly as if he was swatting away an insect. The insect came back and bit him in the neck.

"Since when did 'meaningless' and 'display of affection' go together in a sentence?"

"Since I said it."

"Idiot."

There was a lull in the conversation, where Krishna leaned back to 'ooh' and 'ah' at the colorful leaves they were passing underneath. In such time, her horse strayed a little bit. Before it could go too far, Loki leaned over and grabbed the reigns. Him yanking it back to the path snapped Krish out of her daze.

"You are going to end up riding yourself off a cliff." Loki threw the reigns into Krishna's face. She huffed and continued staring at the intricate waves of detailing on the plants.

"The horse isn't that stupid."

"But you are."

"Excuse me, Loki?" Another insult to catch her attention. But Loki, realizing she was thoroughly pissed off by that one, decided he didn't want her attention anymore. Not now that it was becoming red and blistering. So he tried his best to make a good escape. A failed attempt, though, when his horse decided to suddenly forget how to step over thick tree roots.

"Stupid animal," Loki hissed, digging his heels into its ribcage. But the horse (whether it was actually unintelligent, or just wanted to spite the person kicking it) remained completely statuesque. It didn't budge. At all. "Move!"

"Awh, Loki..." Krishna cooed, her horse delicately tiptoeing over what Loki's was unable to. "Yelling at the horse won't make it go, remember?" Krishna's calmness was terrifying. That meant she was plotting something to get even, he could just feel it. She rounded her horse to stand parallel to his, its hooves stomping impatiently in the dead plant matter on the ground. An impatient horse for an impatient girl — how fitting. It took her a moment to calm it down, but she ended up easing the animal into being subdued.

All while Loki sat, with vigorous posture on his stubborn horse, waiting for his impending doom.

"I bet you," and so started that impending doom, "that I can get to the BiFrost before you can." And when his impending doom turned out to be less impending-doom-ish than he thought it was going to be, he turned up to look at her with a fresh smirk overcoming his face.

"You ask for a race." He clarified.

"No," Krish smiled sarcastically, "I'm asking your _permission_ for me to _kick your trash _at one."

"I think the only trash-kicking that will happen is when you fall off," Loki's horse finally cooperated, and he moved to face Krish head-on, "and my horse kicks the bits of your shame into your pretty little face." He accented his insult by reaching out and taking Krishna's chin in his thin fingers. She shook him away.

"We'll see." Krishna adjusted her position slightly, tensing her feet in the stirrups and leaning down toward the mane of her impatient steed. Her green eyes, though, (glossed over with what Loki could only assume was competition) were the only things that held Loki's attention. He had completely forgotten about the others or where they were supposed to meet up. All that was coursing through his mind were the best routes to take to getting to the rainbow bridge. Krishna didn't know the layout of the kingdom like he did. After all, if he could find a more efficient route, speed would be of no worth in the race. If his intelligence proved key, he could have _walked _the path and still beaten his companion.

"The BiFrost," Loki warned, edging down and holding the horse steady with his legs, "is quite a distance away. Are you up for such an adventurous task?"

"I came for adventure, I'm sure as hell not backing down from it."

"Any rules you'd like to implement?"

"None." Krish snapped instantaneously. "Rules are for children. But the bet has to be put in place. If I win, you have to make me a chocolate cake. By yourself. No help. Icing and all. And maybe even a couple candles. It's not my birthday, but whatever, candles are fun—"

"And if I come out victorious, which I will," Loki interrupted. "I get to keep your hairclip."

And as if Loki had just slipped his elbow down on a piano and struck several of the keys, Krishna's face went into sheer panic. She stared at him with wide eyes for a long moment before rotating around and looking at the distance to the rainbow bridge. She filled a few moments debating if she would be able to make it before him. Loki was just confused as to why she became so nervous at the mention of her hair accessory.

He thought she was going to lecture him on being too sentimental, but she went all panic-mode instead.

"Deal." Krishna suddenly snapped back before Loki could think too much about the matter. Her eyes were filled with that firm resolve again. The firm resolve was so prominent that it was practically spilling out. "I hope you know where my hairclip is, because you'll be giving it back."

"We'll see."

"Yes you will."

"Alright, no cheating." Loki clarified as the two of them prepared for takeoff.

"How would I even cheat?" Krishna would have flailed her arms if she wasn't gripping so tightly to the reigns. Then, if only to throw off Loki's riding skills, added, "Stupid."

"Okay." Loki shifted just a little. His horse reared back slightly and stomped into the plant matter. "Ten... Nine..." But before he could even brush into eight, the tawny color of Krishna's horse was a blur past his face. Then, wondering what just happened, he was treated to Krishna looking back at him with her tongue sticking out as she sprinted off for the colored Bridge. "Alright, if she wants to play that way," Loki wrapped one hand in the rope and dug his heels into the horse. "Let's play."

Then in one stomach-jolting burst, he was rushing out of the forestry and through the courts of the palace. His dead-set focus on Krishna prevented him from seeing the stupefied court members to the sides. Each one had stopped what they were doing to brush aside their long locks of hair and watch what was going on for as long as they could. Then Loki and his horse would run past and leave them to gossip about what they'd just seen.

The horse's feet pounding on the royal walkways became pattern-like. Loki's adrenaline-fueled heartbeat meshed with the strides of the animal underneath him, a constant melodic beat that set the background noise for his pursuit. And when Krishna made a wrong turn in the twisting courtyard, forcing her to turn back, Loki closed some of the gap. But she was still ahead, if by only several yards. He could see her animal straining to keep up with the rider's demands to go faster, each muscle in its frame contracting and relaxing. Her tail was poised, only moving slightly when it would aid in keeping her balance, while the horse's tail fluttered in the current that the speed was making.

That same air current that bombarded past Loki's face and kept his eyes narrowed. His horse was more experienced, and the traction he gained was increasing. As Krishna rounded onto the slickness of the rainbow bridge, Loki was finally starting to close the gap.

One cry of "Open the gates!" from Loki caused the ordained keepers to thrust open the golden doorway. As the grand barrier eased open, the full majesty of the Rainbow Bridge glittered out into a stretch of distance. Krishna burst through the opening right when there was enough room to pass. Her horse continued to sprint forward with Loki's only a few feet behind.

Now that it was just a dead sprint, he was wondering if he would lose after all. He hoped not. Loki hadn't made a chocolate cake in his whole life – it didn't really seem like fun.

The Rainbow Bridge was beautiful in the new light. Krishna hadn't seen it from such a perspective. But the perspective changed wherever you were. From the BiFrost, the dark lights of space were the only things there to welcome you, and the lights of the kingdom seemed an eerie dream on the horizon. Now, from where Krishna was, the nebulas and light sky clashed to have their own piece of the heavens. It was a surreal harmony of something that shouldn't have harmonized. All of that (the war between sky and space) swirled in the unreachable dome above them. The dark and light combination brought out different hues in the Bridge.

Then below was the water. It was coursing angrily for the edge of Asgard, where it would drop off into... into what? Where was it even going? Just hurtling itself forward to be thrown off the edge in a torrent of slick liquid. To fall into space without a knowledge of who or what was out there. Krishna's horse had been handling the run, giving her (in that great stretch of Bridge) the time to think about these things; things she hadn't even considered before. But Loki's voice jolted her out of her thoughts, and the transition was very jarring.

Loki had relinquished his win by slowing down. This was after realizing the bridge was too slick for a horse to sprint on it. And though he considered himself talented in riding, he wasn't so accomplished to handle something like that yet.

"Krishna, stop!" Turned into a panicked, "Put your foot back in the stirrup!" When he noticed her tail thrash violently with the loss of balance. She gripped onto the reigns quickly, suddenly realizing she was going faster than what she thought, and slid her foot back to where she could balance properly.

Her pounding heart eased slightly.

But her relief was some sort of vain wish.

Krishna, while she was trying to get back into proper riding position, had been pulling back on the reigns of the horse. The horse that, after so much sprinting, was all-too-eager to stop. Things went deathly silent. Krishna lost her hold of the horse. The pattern-like sprinting motion came to a halt when the horse frictioned to being motionless. That jarring stop thrusted Krish over its head and sent her tumbling for the bridge. She could feel its mane as she was vaulted into the air, only to be sent into screaming pain when she hit the Bridge at an odd angle on her arm.

A few very graceless somersaults, and then some painful skidding, left Krishna only inches away from falling off the Rainbow Bridge's edge. Farther below, the torrents of water coursed by. She gasped out a few more cries of shock, collapsing down on her side to let the air flow through her lungs. After a few shaky breaths, accompanied by the maximized sound of her heart, she realized she was being called after. The sound of her heart quieted when she tuned into Loki's screaming—

"KRISHNA!"

She turned over. The first thing she saw was Loki's slightly distant figure clambering down to try to aid her. Then her eyes blurred and refocused on something nearer: the tawny horse, scared by her screams, and running with powerful strides. It only took Krishna a second to see she was right in its path.

The only thing she could think was, '_What am I supposed to do?'_

Then a stabbing pain attacked her entire torso. The horse's colossal front hoof crushed down on her ribcage. She screamed out again; it was a mutilated scream, something scared rather than hurt. Horrified and twisted, not quite solid from the lack of air.

The horse only continued sprinting for the BiFrost, where Heimdall was waiting to subdue it. Krishna was sprawled on her back, wondering where she was and what just happened. A thin trail of silver-black blood trickled down her cheek. But there was no other blood than that.

Loki reached her with fear-stricken eyes. He dropped down to look over the damage to Krishna's ribcage. There must have been cracked ribs, maybe a punctured lung. But he found – nothing. Aside from the obvious shock written over Krishna's face in bold print, she was fine. Each of her ribs was in tact, even though they'd just come in contact with the entire weight of a half-ton horse.

How much time had just passed, she wondered. It must have been hours. No, not hours. Minutes. Maybe even seconds. Was it just seconds?

"That's a default win," she slurred up at Loki. That shape by her was Loki, wasn't it? She wanted it to be, but everything was shifting together in a mess. And when five other shapes joined Loki's, Krishna was pretty sure she was going crazy.

That was the moment when Krishna's consciousness said its goodbyes and headed for the door. The final slurs Krishna heard amid her heartbeats were —

"Nothing?"

A few more thudding pounds from her chest.

"No!" And for a second, Krishna thought she might have been dead. But, wait. No. She was still alive. Wait, dead or alive? Or a combination of both! She was a zombie, she decided. She was totally a zombie.

A few more heartbeats echoed in her ears. The voices quieted. She was hearing through water, and then butter, then steel.

"There's no damage. She... she is completely unharmed..."

Then, before Krishna could rage up and start demanding answers to her questions, the lights all turned off and she passed out cold.

Night, Krish.

* * *

**xXxXx**

* * *

Being unconscious isn't like being asleep. It sucks more. Feels like you're at the top of a dreamy, lucid roller coaster. You're not quite falling, but gravity has left you alone enough to keep your stomach floating. Enough of that feeling can make you sick. Especially in the not-quite-there sense that is being unconscious. It's not a dream, it's not something you remember, but the feeling is there.

When Krishna's eyes fluttered open, the first thing she wanted to see was chocolate cake. When it was Loki that she saw, sitting by her on the ground, she groaned and turned over.

Loki was _not_ a chocolate cake.

With her dream-like state ebbing away to make room for her lucidity, Krishna cracked her eyes open again and looked around. She was in what she could only assume was the Healer's Room. Where else would they take her after a traumatic experience?

"What happened?" She mumbled.

"You were trampled." Loki said softly, wondering if a freshly woken Krishna was as dangerous as it sounded. He only scooted away a little bit from the woven mat she was settled on. In case, y'know, she wanted to kill someone.

"Trampled?" Krish asked, smiling a little bit. "How fun. How many broken ribs? I had to have broken at least three, right?"

"You are completely undamaged."

Krishna flipped up to sitting position, her hair just as shocked by the sudden movement as her brain was. After staving off what would have become a serious migraine, she looked up to Loki.

"Undamaged?" She repeated. "People don't come out 'undamaged' after being trampled."

"That's what everyone else said, too." Loki shrugged. "Do not yell at me, I'm just delivering what I thought might have come off as good news."

"Ugh."

"Did you _want_ broken ribs?" Loki squeaked, obviously unsettled by the fact that Krishna wasn't pleased by her survival. If HE was happy with her being alive, SHE should have been happy with her being alive. Hell, even _Sif_ was concerned with her well-being, and all Krishna had to say on the matter was 'ugh.'

For some reason, this poked at Loki's pride.

…Even though he wasn't even the one who got hurt…

It poked at his pride anyway.

"I got trampled." Krish re-stated into her knees. "I'm going to kill that horse."

"You are not." Loki denied. "It is a miracle that you're still alive. And I will not let you take your new birth at life to slaughter the thing that had no logical hand in harming you."

"You sound concerned," Krishna said slowly. She looked at the massive pit she was settled by in the Warming Room, realizing she wasn't with the Healers after all. Pity. The Healers probably had a room with huge water fountains and stained glass. But all Krishna got was a mat, a pit of coals, and someone chewing her out for threatening to kill a horse.

"Well, yes." Loki's eyebrows knitted together as he ran one finger around the rim of a goblet. A goblet of wine he brought for Krishna, but was considering drinking it himself. "I am concerned. I am just starting to understand you, I would not want to lose you."

"I'm not going anywhere." Krish said softly. Dying would have taken her back to the Gods, where they would have probably chewed her out for being so reckless. Then what? Would she have just been sentenced to Hell or would she have to work out her own path? Guarding Loki from beyond the veil seemed efficient. No temporal body to damage. Krishna's eyes widened. After searching so long for a loophole, Krishna finally found it –

Death.

She needed to die.

As Loki finally gave into his temptation and drank the wine sitting next to him, Krishna formed a new plan in her head. She'd always wanted to see her inner workings, the color of her blood. And with no real consequence, there was nothing stopping her. She could do her 'Guardian of Loki's Soul' stuff from the "other side."

So as Loki finished off what _should_ have been Krishna's alcohol, it was settled.

She was going to kill herself.

And she was going to make it fun.

* * *

_A/N: This took me a bit to get up, but I wanted to polish the daylights out of it. I hope you enjoyed it! Thank you so much for sticking with it. Plot. Coming up. Just a few chapters away from something totally different. Fun fact: I have a huge poster board on my wall with all the plot details of this story. I'm very invested in it. xD The story AND the poster board. _

_Candied apples for reviews! _

_Glad no one died from the cotton candy. _

_-Phan_


	19. Hugging the Grim Reaper

Suicide.

Suicide was something Krishna didn't have a foundation of knowledge on. Homicide? Sure. She knew all about homicide. She had learned so much about homicide, she was practically the guidebook of homicide. She was the pamphlet that read "So you want to be a homicidal maniac?" She knew the ins, outs, ups and downs on killing – the location of arteries, the kill spots. Then the more graceful sections of the art – skinning cleanly, removing eyes without damaging the sockets, signatures in the bones and the like.

But suicide?

She was a mess without a mop when it came to suicide.

She was a three year old constantly asking questions like "Why?" and "What?" when it came to suicide.

Sure, she did some reading. She did as much reading as she could on the topic. But after thoroughly searching the library (atop Loki's shoulders, of course) the only thing Krishna could find was "How to Subdue One's Enemy When they are Considering Self-Harm." Krish didn't need to know how to calm down a Frost Giant with self-worth issues; she needed to learn how to properly put herself in the grave. Pushing daisies wasn't rocket science. So why did it feel like it? How complicated could it be?

She remembered watching the 6'o'clock news on Midgard when she was growing in her current body. She would stand on the muddy streets in her dumpster-rescued galoshes, peering through the electronic store windows to catch the newest suicidal jumper on the news. She remembered muttering 'jump' at the windows, her breath briefly fogging up the glass before she would mumble it again.

And, in New York, no one was willing to stop a little girl from looking in a store window. There she would stand, not knowing where she was sleeping that night or where she was going the next day. But she would watch the news as taxi cabs creeped by on the muddy streets.

Half of the jumpers would either back down or be rescued and subdued. A third of them actually jumped to their doom (to little Krishna's thrill). And the last small chunk of them would get pushed out by Krishna herself.

So when it came to adopting a role model in her current situation, those jumpers came in pretty handy.

The cliff Krishna was settled atop descended gracefully into a vertical stretch that plunged into the Asgardian ocean. The water pounded angrily – gracefully and angrily – on the proud rocks jutting for the sky. Krishna had spent a few nights on this particular cliff – it was where she would escape to after confronting Loki. This cliff was what had given her a place to sleep. A place to stretch out and watch the nebulas twist above her, try to reach up and touch the star-pinned dome.

But, as much as she and the cliff were buddy-buddy, there was something Krishna kept hidden about herself from everyone. Her phobias.

Heights? Heights were definitely in the top two.

She was a psychopath demon homicidal maniac (try putting that on a resume), not a paratrooper. Sitting on the edge of that cliff made Krishna's stomach twist into at least three knots. When another wave collided with the rocks and turned into a mess of foam, her stomach writhed again.

That made it four, then? Four knots.

She scooted forward ever so slightly, her leg dangling down to her ultimate doom. How far down was it? It couldn't have been more than a couple hundred feet – a daunting height perfect for lethal cliff diving. Being on the edge of it all left Krishna wondering if she should have given Loki a proper goodbye. (All she did, really, was sneak up behind him in the hall, kick him in the butt, and then run away laughing hysterically)(Loki's "WTF" face was the last she saw of him).

But that was fine. A less sentimental goodbye meant less emotion when they were separated. Being emotional wasn't Krishna's thing. She wanted to leave with no strings attaching her to him, but it still hurt. A hell of a lot. All she wanted to do was rip off this whole thing, this corset, and watch it burn. It was too tight now.

_What if…_ Krishna wondered. _What if I had just come to Asgard on a whim? If I was just another girl without all this crap on my back? Would I be able… would I have been able to stay with Loki? Would he WANT me to stay?_

Then, on that cliff, Krishna thought about what life would have been like for her and Loki if they were together. A never-ending practical joke, intertwined with the unspoken lust between the two of them. Krish ached to feel that freedom, to taste that life. But she shoved that ache away and focused on the bottom of the cliff.

All the sentiment didn't change the height. It was still flipping high.

_Maybe,_ Krishna thought, her gaze shifting to the distant line of the rainbow bridge, _I've had this coming. I deserve it. Don't I? This is what I should be getting: pain. I don't deserve royalty and crap. I don't really want it._ Then she looked over that the palace with hesitant eyes. _But, Loki._ He'd be better without her, right? And he was annoyed by her so often, it would be a relief to have her absent.

Wouldn't it?

Then, all those things washed away. The feelings ebbed from her heavy heart and left her with those memories of New York. When she died, all those memories would be erased. She would be left with a completely clean slate again. The Gods didn't want her keeping her knowledge of past lives. But as much as they tried to keep it from her, her homicidal database stayed in tact. The memories, though, were something that they COULD take.

And then, being who Krishna was, she wondered what they would reincarnate her as next. Maybe they would –

Krishna's thoughts were interrupted by her own soul-ripping scream. Maybe balancing on a cliff wasn't a good place to fall into deep thought. Because she slipped, and was now plummeting for that water.

The obscenities that spewed out of Krishna's mouth were so vile they would have been censored. Twice.

That stomach-floating feeling remained plastered in her ribcage. It was air rushing by her, her face covered in her hair as it lashed around in the air current. She turned around, saw the rocks she was falling for, screamed "OH SH – "

...and then totally blacked out.

* * *

xXxXx

* * *

"It's been a long time..." Krishna said, getting the bearings of where she was. It almost felt like a dream — but not quite. Everything was lucid in one sense — shifting ever so slightly — and in another sense it was completely solid. She wasn't dead, though. She'd been dead before (more times than she'd liked) and this was definitely NOT the afterlife. "... since I've seen YOU last." She looked over the shiny black table separating her and her company. And then she reared back, kicked her feet up on it, and looked around. They were encased in a large black dome. That was it. Nothing else.

"I love what you've done with the place." Krishna sneered, tipping the chair back and looking upside-down at the far end of the dome. It didn't change from being the dull, depressing scene it was. "What would you call this? Decoration to die for?" The one across from her was obviously unamused, even after Krishna gave a snort and said, "You see what I did there? Die? To die for?" She snorted again. "Because you're the Grim Reaper...?"

"I despise that simplified name."

"Ooh." Krish said, widening her green eyes (practically the only colored thing in the entire room). "THAT got a reaction out of you."

"I am —"

"I know who you are. I've been through this before. I mean please," She pointed at herself, staring at the shadowy figure across from her. "Do you know who_ I_ am?" She took the pause to glance down at her afterlife form. Usually, after her death, she would transfer back to the scaled beast. But she was still in her uber-feminine body. She didn't know whether she wanted to gag or do a double-fist-pump to the air.

So she did a combination of both, feeling satisfied enough.

And a little weirded out.

"You have committed an act that was not ordained for you." The dark voice grumbled venomously. The very tones of it dripped with disgust, Krishna particularly feeling like those drippings were falling over her skin. She wanted to stand up and shake them off. "Suicide, KrishnaLan, is not usually your tendency. You were always one to refuse death."

"Things have changed." Krish tried to match her voice to his, but it just didn't have the same effect.

"Because of Laufeyson?"

"His name is Loki."

"On a first-name-basis now, are you? You must be particularly fond of him for that..."

"Stop the teasing." Krish wished she could just brush the whole matter away with one hand, but it still felt like it was clinging to her legs. Krishna hated when things clung to her legs. "Why have you brought me to this place? Let me go see the Gods."

"I refuse to grant you access into the afterlife."

Krish threw her feet off the table (although it was horrifically ungraceful, it got her point across), stood up sharply, and slammed both fists onto the slick black surface of it. "WHAT?"

"I'm sending you back to Asgard." 'Death' stood as well. He was just a thick apparition: a melding of black smoke with a gravelly, uneven voice to match. The tendrils from his robe of smog snaked over the tabletop, then eventually disappeared into the air.

"You can't do that!" Krishna squeaked in panic, "I can't go back! My entire goal revolves around my death working! I'm supposed to protect Loki from the afterlife, where I can simultaneously protect myself!" She slumped over slightly. "Please!"

"You do not know what consequences these actions will unfold. Loki Laufeyson was the last chance given to you by Radha." Death cocked what must have been his head to one side, a few tendril-like mist strings slipping off and disappearing. "I wonder what they plan to do with you once you give up on your last sprint to redemption."

"I'm not going to hurt him, if that's what you're suggesting." Krishna raised one eyebrow warily. Death slowly walked his way around the table, his black and gray trail following him like a shadow.

"Of course you aren't." It was Death's turn to give a chuckle (leaving Krishna to wait for his gag-double-fist-pump-to-the-air. It never came) as he walked along the perimeter of the room. "You're too smitten."

"Smi—? Excuse me?"

"But you have been so blinded by your emotion that you cannot see what you are unleashing upon yourself. Bigger things are out there than you, Krish. Dying is not an escape from this."

"Smitten...?"

"So I refuse your passage. I will send you back to Asgard. I do not know what you can do from there, but that is up to you to figure out. You will not get through here. For you to face the Gods with this most recent failure is to face your eternal damnation."

"How am I smitten?"

"KrishnaLan! Have you heard a single thing I've said to you?" Death shouted. Krishna stopped her rambling long enough to look up at him, (suddenly realizing he was much closer), blinked slowly, and said —

"But SMITTEN?"

When Death was three clicks away from smacking his palm to wherever his forehead was, Krishna felt an over-arching sense of victory. It wasn't many times you actually got Death himself to facepalm. But he hesitated, took his hand back down, and reared up to look at her again. His hooded head left his face completely obstructed — and a good thing, too, in Krishna's opinion. She hadn't once seen the face of Death, and she wanted to keep it that way. Thoughts of undead corpses and skeletal faces took away most of her curiosity.

"You will return to Asgard," Death grumbled. He felt the need to summarize what Krishna had obviously not heard. "I will not open the gates of the afterlife for you. Your actions are brash, idiotic, and will reap you nothing but pain. I've protected you from the trenches of my realm for ages, and I won't stop because you've fallen in love."

Krish whined a little and stomped around. The resemblance to an angry three-year-old was uncanny. But despite her best attempts at a persuasive temper-tantrum, Death remained rock solid (figuratively)(those smoke tendrils were still freaking Krish out).

"I have to die!" She whined, completely ignoring the hair falling down in her face. "You can't do this to me!"

"Watch me."

"I'll just kill myself again." Krishna's panicked face turned more resolute as she straightened up. She even brushed the hair out of her face, which (given the circumstances) was quite a feat.

"You will fail."

"You're not going to beat me at this poker game, Grim."

"Don't call me that."

"I'm going to kick the bucket, with or without your help." Krish turned on her heel and began marching away from him proudly. The scene began to fade away as Krishna gained consciousness on Asgard. Behind her, Death completed the facepalm that he resisted earlier.

"It's just death," Krish grumbled to herself, turning her eyes down darkly. "Not rocket science."

* * *

xXxXx

* * *

"Did you hear that?" One of the guards nudged the other. But he only shoved him off. Then gave in a few extra shoves for good measure.

"You are constantly so paranoid. Calm your quivering for 5 moments!" The second guard grumbled, shifting the spear in his hand to stand more resolute. "I cannot think straight with all thy panic. Why is it that I'm always paired with YOU to guard these hallways?"

"Honestly, wouldn't YOU be paranoid if you'd gone through what I have?" The first justified briskly. His grip on his own spear was remarkably tight. In the fear that KrishnaLan, Loki's horrifying demon of a partner, was going to come out of no where and steal it from him. The second noticed this iron-wrought grip.

"Really." He tried to give his best attempt at comfort. Guards weren't trained in that kind of thing, though. Usually just guarding and the like. "Nothing is here, my friend. This hallway is one of the least traveled. What could possibly be hiding down here?" That didn't seem to help the first at all. So the second added quickly, "No one can come down here. You can relax."

"The people do not concern me. It is the _things_."

"No_thing_ will come down here."

"Are you certain?" The first turned slightly to see the second past his golden rimmed helmet. "I've had much emotional scarring these last few days. I could do without more."

"Nothing will happen to us down here!" The other chuckled, resting one hand on the guard's shoulder. "Your emotions will remain in tact."

"Perhaps you're right." The first sighed slightly, his tense face relaxing. Then, as he talked himself down and purged the thoughts of Krishna from his mind, the hold on his spear slackened just a little. Then a little more, until he was completely calm. "It does feel nice to take panic away for a rest."

"I told you." The second rotated back around. "And look. Nothing has happened to you. Nothing is _going_ to happen to —"

KrishnaLan exploded out from one of the adjoining hallways, screaming (for some abstract reason) (maybe she just wanted to scream) like a banshee.

"I TOLD YOU I HEARD SOMETHING!" The 'scarred guard' wailed, throwing all caution to the wind and deciding that running was better than confrontation. As he was sprinting away, he screamed back, "WHY DOES THIS ALWAYS HAPPEN TO ME?"

"Come back, you coward!" The other screamed after him. But when the golden cape of his friend rounded the corner to escape, it was out of his hands. He quickly flipped around to face the demon girl. (The rumors spreading about her were highly unsatisfactory). But when he kept his stance to confront her, she wasn't there. It was only the shimmery, torchlit hallway there to say 'hello!'

He sighed in relief. "There will be no emotional scarring today."

* * *

**MEANWHILE...**

* * *

"Run. Run. Just run. Run. Oh, Gods. Run, just run..." The guard mumbled to himself. That spear-snatching, mind-scarring, deceivingly mischievous girl wasn't getting him — not today! He'd had a massive serving of nightmares shoved down his throat; with Loki's shaking him senseless added on top of that, he was taking no chances. The nightmares had already started working their ways into his daylife. NOT TODAY.

"I've gotten away!" He dared to breathe. "When I just turn this corner —"

"HI!" Krishna screamed, dropping down from her hiding place on the ceiling. The guard stopped abruptly, shrieked loudly, and tried to flail away in the opposite direction. Somehow, though, sneaking little Krishna managed to move her black hair-green eyed frame around to be in front of his again.

Were those tears in his eyes?

Sweet.

"Hey, you remember me, right?" Krish asked, moving every time the guard tried to get away. "Of course you remember me...I mean really."

"What do you want with me, demon?"

"No, I don't want anything to do with YOU. I want THAT." Krish pointed at the spear he was holding. But before he could even get semi-close to obliging, Krishna yanked it from his hands with brute force. Then, as the guard watched with horror, KrishnaLan gripped onto it with the tip facing her abdomen. And in one thrust, Krish drove the entire thing through her own flesh.

The scream that ripped through the air was bloodcurdling. It wasn't Krishna's scream, though. It was the guard's.

Let the emotional scarring begin.

"Ha!" Krish laughed, even though her dark blood was starting to make a mess of her clothing. "I got my stomach right through the middle! That takes some... Ugh... Some skill." The guard was frozen in terror. "Hey." Krish chuckled, letting go of the spear and allowing it to jut freely out of her body. "Is there something in my ribs?" followed by a bout of maniacal laughter. But the laughter stopped almost immediately. "Ow, that hurts."

"I insist, creature, that you remove the weapon..." The guard suddenly felt morally inclined to help her, to talk her down. Didn't really work, though. Krish was never one for moral inclination.

"Let's see..." She said, clenching her teeth and twisting the spear farther into her body. "... if I can get it to come out my back. Just for kicks." The guard didn't think she was serious.

But she was.

And, what do you know, a few moments later the tip of the golden spear (all covered in Krishna's blood and strands of organ matter) peeked through her back. It slowly wedged farther out, creating a bigger wound to the side of her spine. The pressure built so much, the wound was just large enough, that in a matter of seconds the entire spearhead tore through and splattered some blood on the walls.

KrishnaLan, now completely impaled through her middle, let go of the weapon and looked down at it.

It was at that very timely moment that Loki rounded the corner, flipping through a book and muttering to himself. The black haired prince seemed not to notice Krish and the guard at all, and he just continued toward them with his green attire swishing behind him.

"Hey Loki!" Krish smirked, holding out her arms and turning to the side so Loki could see her good work. "Look what I did! Pretty cool party trick, huh?" Loki looked up at her with half-open, non-caring eyes. He blinked slowly, scratched his ear, and walked back the way he came. "What a downer, huh?" Krish asked, turning to the guard. The guard's face was painted with absolute horror. Then it suddenly went expressionless as he passed out completely and crumpled on the floor.

"Gods!" Krish exclaimed, yanking the spear from her abdomen (the ripping sounds were just oh-so-pleasant) and resting on it. "I'm surrounded by downers." It was disheartening when she could practically FEEL her tendons healing back together.

If she wanted to kill herself, she would have to try harder than that.

Suicide Mark Two: Failed.

"You keep this." Krish tossed the spear onto the guard's unconscious back, ignoring the blood that flew off of it. Then she wiped her hands on her pants. "Ugh..."

* * *

xXxXxXx

* * *

"A nice night for some stargazing, wouldn't you say?"

"Ah, yes, certainly. With a very nice fire blazing to keep us warm."

Asgardian commoners. That's what this little group was composed of. Just a few of them, seated on chairs they had dragged out into the street to surround a community fire. They were wrapped tightly in blankets to ward the chill off their backs, as they creeped as close to the fire as they could. It wasn't usually so cold down in Asgard's villages. But recently the crisp air had been unmistakable. Something was certainly shifting, and the commoners certainly weren't keen on it.

They weren't worrying too much. They just wanted to stay near to the fire.

"Wrap yourself up, my dear." One of the men gestured down at his daughter, who had firmly clasped her arms around her legs. A small squabble later, the girl had a blanket around her shoulders and a father with a more pleased face.

"So," One of the others, an Asgardian with a scruffy golden beard and locks of hidden hair, prodded the fire and spoke, "how much have you heard of Loki's new interest?"

"I heard they are to be married." The woman to his right couldn't help but add her piece of (rather false) gossip. And once she was prodded on by several gasps, she continued. "They are to be wed after the next OdinSleep. So I hear."

"Preposterous! Loki would not marry so young and brashly!"

"Stranger things have happened."

"Then why has the kingdom not been introduced to her face? Shouldn't we see the face of one who may someday be our Queen?" The golden-haired spoke again, obviously the more intelligent and well spoken of the commoner group.

"That will never happen. Everyone knows the throne is Thor's and Thor's alone. Even Loki should be well aware of the fact that he is not the favored child. So this girl is of no matter to us." The gossiping woman piped up again, wrapping her cloak around her head just a little tighter.

"How could you talk so of a Prince?" The golden one snapped. His face was accented by the light of the jumping, tall fire. A fire that was nearly an opaque wall. "And of a girl you know nothing about?"

"It just so happens, I've heard, that this girl is not winning the heart of the royalty — all except Loki, of course — and she is indeed going to be exiled from Asgard." The woman gave a dramatic pause, felt mostly by the children who were watching her with wide eyes. "She must be a demon."

"Well maybe she – "

At that moment, a black haired, well dressed girl ran from one of the back allies. Everyone watched in confusion as she skidded and slipped over the cobblestone, struggling immensely to keep her balance. And then, in even more terror, they watched as she threw herself –

Into the fire.

No one screamed, though. They watched, silently, as Krishna sat herself down in the middle of the flame and waited for it to scathe her. It never did. She flailed around a little, hoping her body might catch fire, and when her hair sparked a little she decided she was done. No hair-burning for her, thank you very much.

She stepped right back out, completely unharmed. Her clothes were a little charred, and her skin had strips of coal marks, but nothing to damage her.

"What does a girl have to do to kill herself these days?" She threw her arms up in the air and screamed. "I just want to die! I'm not asking for a lot!" And then, as she walked away (more like stomped away), "COME ON!"

Suicide Mark 3: Failed

* * *

xXxXx

* * *

Krishna had her head in the fountain water for exactly 20 minutes, 34 seconds. Breathe in, breathe out, breathe in, breathe out. And even though the water was tumbling through her lungs, she didn't feel faint. At all. Not in the slightest. In fact, she felt like she was getting more air from the water than she was from the… well… from the air.

As the water cascaded through her trachea, she realized THIS wasn't going to be her downfall, either.

Suicide Mark 4: Failed

Krishna gave one more underwater exasperated sigh (more fun than normal sighing) before she came up out of the water and tossed her soaking hair back. A few retches later, her lungs were water free and she was still alive.

She turned around, thinking about finally eating some chocolate cake, but came face to face with someone: Hogun. And, rather, a Hogun who was watching her with twisted eyes. Eyes that clearly read "What the hell are you doing?"

She gave a long pause, and there was a very strange silence between them where neither of them moved or did anything at all. They just stood there: one of them half-soaking, and the other one deciding he was emotionally scarred.

Krish felt like she should put another tally mark on her name for that.

"What…" Hogun was actually the one to break the awkward silence. Shame, too. Krishna was going to scream something terrifying to see how much more she could scar him. "Are you doing?"

"Well…" Krish scratched the back of her neck. A few droplets of water dripped off her elbow. "It's like… bobbing for apples… except, like, with fish." Her wide eyes waited for Hogun to respond.

"There are no fish in these fountains." He sneered, which set off his already thinned eyes.

"…Imaginary fish."

Hogun tilted his head up just a little, probably deciding whether or not he wanted to give that a proper response. The verdict was 'not,' so he walked away in the hopes he wouldn't be followed.

"Imaginary fish…" Krishna scoffed, "Psh."

* * *

xXxXx

* * *

One more go. She was going to give death one more chance to claim her. However, realizing that her chances at death were winding down, she was doing this last suicide attempt out of sheer fun.

Jumping off Loki's balcony was always something she wanted to do. She slid one foot up on the railing and boosted herself up slickly onto the stone railing. Waving her arms around for just a moment helped her keep her balance on the green stone, and then she peered down at the ground far, far below. The height made her momentarily dizzy, but she shook her head (throwing off her balance slightly and making her heart pound before she caught herself).

She was going to make a game of this. She closed one eye and looked down at the grounds so far below. The stonework and flora was very systematical from above. She wanted to see if she could get her bloodsplatter (falling from this height was bound to cause splatter) to touch… that tree right there.

"Alright… Here we go." Krishna mumbled. "KrishnaLan approaches the jump, feeling relatively nervous. You can see it in her posture." For some reason, she felt the distinct need to commentate on her suicide attempt. So she did. "She crouches down ever so slightly, hopefully the breeze won't throw her off. And, she does look particular dashing in this light, I must say." Krish paused. "Oh, well thank you. You're welcome." Krishna's foot slipped just a little, and she gasped (efficiently cutting off her commentary). Her heartbeat thrummed in her ears.

"I'm just going to go…" She suddenly said, feeling just barely squeamish at the action she was about to commit.

"KrishnaLan, what are you doing?" Loki was standing in the doorway, holding the book from earlier in one hand. "And what was going on when you had that spear through your middle?" Loki asked. Krishna, perched on the balcony like some sort of bird, looked under her arm to peer at Loki with panic. He looked back, and when he noticed her silence, realized exactly what she was doing.

"Loki, go away."

"Krishna…" he dropped the book on the ground, and it made a solid 'thunk.' Instead, his hands flew up to try to ease Krishna down. "Get off the railing."

Ooh. So now Krish really WAS one of those suicidal jumpers on the NY news. Which percentage was she going to be in? The percentage that got talked down? The ones that jumped? Got shoved out? For a good, long moment Krish had a twang in her stomach that made her want to run over to Loki.

But she ignored it, looked away from him, and focused on the tree she wanted to splatter with blood.

"Krishna, please…" Loki's feet slid ever nearer, just a little at a time in case it upset her somehow. "Please do not…"

When her muscles tensed and her body leaned forward, Loki dashed for the balcony.

In one instant, she was there. In another instant, she was off the railing and gone completely. Loki screamed and reached down instinctively, taking a few seconds to realize that he had actually gotten a hold on Krishna's wrist.

She was remarkably light.

"Let me pull you up, Krishna!" Loki squeaked, leaning back so he didn't get thrown off as well.

"No!" Krish flailed around, her wrist twisting in his grip. "Loki, let me go! I'll be fine!"

"I will not!"

"OH MY GOODNESS, YOU'RE SO IRRITATING!"

"Krishna, you're hanging off a balcony!"

"Yes, and I want to be splattered on the ground!" That didn't inspire much happiness in Loki, whose eyes went completely panicked. "I mean, I'm sorry, that was a bad way to put this…"

"Please let me pull you up! Hold to my hand!" He was choking up just a little, and Krishna felt a second of complete horror and regret. She shoved THAT feeling away, too.

"I'LL BE FINE, LOKI, LET ME GO!" Krishna wailed. "I'll be fricking fine!"

"KrishnaLan, _please_!"

Krish considered what Loki must have been feeling in that moment, the absolute terror of someone he could have cared about considering suicide. She saw the situation through his eyes. He didn't know that she was immune to death. All he knew was Krishna was about to die.

Her hand, originally completely against holding to his, suddenly tensed. She wrapped her fingers around his wrist, then brought her other hand up to hold it as well.

"Okay, Loki, okay…pull me up." She said slowly.

"Thank the Gods…" Loki leaned back and used as much muscle as he could to bring Krishna back onto the safety of the balcony. He wasn't that strong. Krishna wedged her foot between the standers of the railing and boosted herself up and over.

"I would have been okay, Loki." Krish muttered. No more excuses drizzled out of her mouth, because Loki had her in a tight embrace. She gasped when Loki's body was so close to her own, and she could feel every one of his panicked breaths. "L – Loki, I would have been okay…" She said again, hesitating before wrapping her arms around his back. "I would have been fine."

"I demand you never do that again." Loki said sharply. The sharpness made Krishna jump. His tight hold of her said one thing… the tone of his voice said another.

Or were they both the same thing?

Genuine care?

When he sniffed a little, Krishna realized he might have actually been crying. It broke her apart, dissolved the very fibers that held her pride together. So she broke down, too. She didn't know why she was even tearing up, but she was.

"I won't do it again, Loki." She whispered.

"You must promise."

"I promise." And she meant it. So death wasn't going to be a way out for her, in any form. She'd have to find a different way.

She sighed, resting her head on Loki's chest and looking to the side.

She wouldn't get to see her bloodsplatter, after all.

Suicide.

Krishna wasn't an expert on suicide.

And she was never going to be.

* * *

_A/N: I'm sorry for such a long space between updates. I spent a while polishing this chapter up to make it all pretty. And it won't be nearly as long to the next update. What did you think of this chapter? More of Krishna trying to get out of her predicament. _

_Thank you all SO much. SO MUCH. I can't express my thanks. _

_Every review gets a slice of Loki's chocolate cake. (Be careful when you're eating it, it might have broken glass in it)._

_Please tell me what you think! _

_Love, Phan_


	20. Sunrise

_"The sunrise is the color of blood. When you start to trudge through the muck, you finally take account of how much there is. And how much you have left to trudge through. The sunrise marks the beginning of a tormented day." – Unknown_

* * *

Loki woke up.

That, in itself, that simple action started a domino effect. The second Loki's eyes flickered open, the first domino fell. And from that point on the dominoes would continue to crumble. When Loki closed his eyes again, nothing would be left of them at all; they would lie in a crushed pattern, a beautiful spiral that echoed the remnants of what used to stand. So many events to happen in a single day.

And it all started with, "Loki woke up."

But he had no idea what kind of chain was started, all he knew is that he had just been abruptly shaken from his sleep. He was particularly irritated over this. Rotating his eyes around in his lavish pillow (making sure to have them look as menacing as he could), Loki turned to confront his "attacker's" face.

"Thor. What. On. Asgard. Are. You. Doing. Here. At. This. Hour?" Which only further made Loki realize it was the dead of night, and KrishnaLan was crashed at the end of his bed. She was all wrapped up in a blanket, like a little cocoon, hardly taking up a corner. Her head was tucked under her as if she was trying to block out the world as she fell asleep. Loki gave her a long, one-eyebrow-raised stare for a while. Then he turned back to Thor, ignored Krish's absolute cuteness, and became angry again.

"Why, Loki, you've been sleeping so often now!" Thor chuckled, which was the last sound Loki wanted to hear. He shoved his head under the pillow and groaned as Thor continued. "I remember when you and I used to stay up for weeks on end to play games and such. Gods do not sleep too often, Loki."

"I have had many things put on my plate recently." Loki grumbled. It didn't come out as threatening when it was muffled by the pillow. "I find that sleeping helps me digest."

"Well how much have you been eating?"

"It's an…" Loki gave a sigh, "It's an analogy brother."

"A what?"

"It's like a metaphor?"

Silence from Thor.

"Forget about it, you blundering oaf…" Loki threw the pillow off his head, winced a little when it hit Krishna's sleeping frame, and then relaxed when she didn't wake up to tear his head off. "Why are you here, honestly?"

Thor took a while to answer. It seemed he was too entranced by Loki's messy hair and disheveled appearance to make any real sentence trail from his mouth. Having someone stare at your hair doesn't make you particularly confident, and Loki slouched over and covered his head. Thor snapped back to life.

"There is a trial being held in the grand room." Thor said. Loki watched his mouth in the dark air carefully, wondering if he had actually heard him right. "Your presence is the most needed."

"A trial?" Loki repeated. He reached over and lit the torch nearest to his bed with a spark of magic. "What offense have I committed that would require a trial? If this is because of the water bombs in your bedroom, I plead innocence; Krish made me – "

"It is not because of you, brother." Was that irritation in Thor's voice? This trial may have been more serious than Loki was taking it out to be. Thor sighed and rubbed his forehead slightly. Harsh shadows from the torch were cast on his face, making his tensed jawline appear that much more strained. Thor hesitated and then looked Loki straight in the eye, which made the latter very nervous. "It is because of Krishna."

"Krishna?" Loki whispered. He took a moment to glance at the girl from the side of his eye. "What about her?"

"Father has become very wary."

"You don't think…?"

"He may banish her from Asgard, Loki." Thor murmured. Loki's face was planted solidly in his hands. "And while I see his point, I have taken careful note on how you and Krishna act around each other. You are much more content now."

"What am I to do, Thor?" Came the reply.

"I think we both know how the verdict will go." Thor said sadly. "Though I am not trained in matters of trial, I vow to do my best in her defense, brother."

Loki took a moment to gather his composure. He rubbed his eyes and then looked up at Thor. They kept their eyes linked, and Loki put his covers aside to climb out of the bed. He threw on his dark silk robe and slicked back his hair as much as he could.

"I want her to stay as much as you, Loki." Thor's eyes were no longer looking at Loki, rather at the floor. Loki froze and watched him. "I hope I do not fail either of you in the trial."

"Thank you, brother." Loki put one hand down on the shoulder of his brother. "Is Krishna permitted to attend?"

"No."

Loki nodded sullenly. "Let us go, then. I'd like to get this midnight trial finished with."

"Loki, midnight trials like these are usually held because a verdict has already been made." Thor whispered. "Krish may be sent away faster than we think."

"We'll do our best, won't we?" Loki said softly, adjusting the thin robe on his neck. "And whatever happens, I am sure Krishna will be honored by our fidelity."

Thor nodded and started for the door, leaving the small bubble of torchlight. Loki, however, held back for a moment. His green eyes, looking goldish in the light, were locked on the grand table by his bed. A little dark glimmer looked back at him, Krishna's hairclip. Loki hesitated. Then he reached out for it.

"Loki, they are waiting for us." Came Thor's low voice from the door. Loki picked it up. He looked back at the ball of blanket that held Krish. And for what was only the time it took him to blink, a hundred different thoughts about her trickled through his brain.

"Yes, I am coming." He breathed after that blink, tearing his eyes away from her and kicking away the urge he had to wake her up. Loki started for the door. He snapped Krishna's hairclip to his collar. Again.

* * *

xXxXx

* * *

"You're an idiot."

"Shut up, I know."

"We know."

"Doesn't that mean we're both idiots?"

"Just you."

"You… I… WE can be so annoying." Selecting the perfect stone, when it came to stone-skipping, took a great amount of care. The bottom usually had to be flat and smooth to barely touch the water, and if it was small, it had a tendency to go farther. Then, just for a moment, the rock would leave delicate circles of tender waves on the surface. Waves that, after only a few moments, would be absorbed by the rest of the lake as if they never existed. At all.

Well Krish didn't give a damn about that. She was dreaming, she knew she was dreaming, and she could do whatever the hell she wanted in her dreams. And if that meant taking the most ugly, disfigured stone and making it skip (at least 7 times) across the water, so be it. Because this was her dream. Her dream. Hers.

She took another stone from the grass into her palm. This one, unlike all the others she had skipped, actually seemed decent for skipping. She clenched her teeth and whipped it through the air, but when it hit the water, it didn't skip. The lake absorbed it completely, spewing up a splash to signify the stone's death.

"We can't be angry with ourselves, Krishna." Came the voice from her side. Just a voice without a body that echoed in the space around her. She didn't even know what it was the voice of. Whether it was her conscience or her subconscious. But that voice was becoming particularly irritating, and if it ever decided to materialize into something tangible (as tangible as a dream voice could be) Krish was going to make a distinct effort to throw a stone through it.

It was her voice, after all. She was talking to herself. The only person she could actually turn to and trust. At this moment, the only person she wanted to mortally injure.

"It's too late for that." Krish sighed and rested her chin on her knees. "I've been angry with myself for a while now. And angry with Loki, Kali, Radha, Thor, Sif… why does Sif hate me so much? I didn't do anything to her."

"She hates who we are. All the Asgardians are so similar minded, you know that. We know that. They crave after war and yet uphold goodness." Her voice snorted, and the snort took a moment to echo across the ghostly lake centerfold in this dream. "We're shocked that they haven't called war on us, yet, aren't we?"

"Stop saying 'we'." Krishna said with clenched teeth. "You and I are one person, it's just ME. I'm alone."

"We are separate and we are the same. We tread on such fine lines that they might as well have risen and sliced us in half." The remnants of the whispers continued to tumble across the dark water and end somewhere in the fog. Perhaps they turned into the fog. Like ripples. Never existed at all.

"So which half am I and which half are you?"

"We are the same."

"How?" Krish muttered. "How can you say that? That doesn't make any sense."

"Why, my dear, just moments ago you insisted that we were the same. And now you claim that it makes no sense."

"Because it doesn't."

"Psychopath tendencies need not make sense. Like a pattern without a pattern. A never-ending number."

"I'm not a psychopath."

"Not quite. Not yet." The voice seemed to become a little crisper, and the edges more distinct. Like Krish was coming up from underwater to greet someone talking to her from above. "Though, we aren't sure. After all, we're talking to ourselves. Psychopaths never realize they're psychopaths until it's too late." The voice was totally crisp now, and it was no longer floating along in the air. It was seated right next to Krishna, muttering in her left ear.

"Is one of us the good half and the other the evil half?" Krish didn't want to look up at the voice. Not yet. She didn't know what her subconscious could conjure up to torment her with. "Good angel, bad angel?"

"More like two varieties of evil." The voice sighed slightly. It was Krishna's own voice, perhaps a little deeper. As if she was sick or it was painful to speak. "There's you. And then there's what you are to become."

"So you're…" Krish finally tipped her head up, but kept focused on the massive black lake. It was huge. And it stretched out in front of her, before disappearing into a black abyss, mingling with stark white fog. What simple, beautifully complex places Krishna's subconscious came up with. So simple in their complexity. Simplicity, in its true simplicity is complexity. A black lake, rich and deep, became so much more to Krishna. And if she listened hard with her dream ears, she could hear the gentle notes of some abstract song, bouncing off the water in haunting tones. "You're… what, a future version of me?" She could see a glimmer of light purple from the corner of her eye, dotted with bits of gold. If she was going to start wearing LIGHT PURPLE in the future, she didn't want to age.

Bleh.

"An inner version." Inner-Krish corrected. "A version of yourself that you haven't embraced yet, but in due time. You will." There was a pause between them again, where they both thought. "At this point in time you think the only thing that is important is you and Loki. The changes that will take place in your own heart, however, will have a much greater impact on your existence."

Krish didn't respond to herself. So herself went on.

"The pain of love goes away after a while." It was as if her inner self regretted saying the next few words. "If you numb it."

"You're telling me to leave and forget?"

"I'm telling you to stop being so damn sensitive. You're weak. It's pathetic, the things you cry over." That dark, strained voice spat.

"I never cry!" Krish whimpered.

"I dwell in you. I live in your deepest fears and secrets, the places where you crawl at night when you're asleep. Where you sit when you're dreaming. And in those places, you cry all the time." Krish tried to block out these words, but her own voice continued. "You appear so flawless right now, so untouched and beautiful. But inside, you are so tarnished and scarred."

"Please stop talking." Krish mumbled into her knees.

"And leave you to suffer by yourself? No."

"But you are me. With or without you is the same!"

"Sometimes in trial and stretches of agony, the only person you have is yourself."

"Argh! Do I really turn into a mess of cliché and empathy?!" That moment was when Krish became so frustrated with herself that she actually, without thinking, flipped around to glare at her own face. And what looked back made her feel like she was certainly in a dream. There was a mild floating feeling in her stomach where she was teetering on the edge of waking up.

It was herself, certainly, in the same form. But her hair was longer, her eyes were darker. A few stray, gray scales lined her face before they gave way to the silky skin on her cheeks. Her tongue was certainly more reptilian, and occasionally it took a split-second jump from her mouth to smell the air. Her pupils were thin slits. Thick black (and slightly chipped) ram's horns jutted from behind her ears. And there were little, needle thin scars all around her mouth.

All this lined with her beautiful light purple saree.

Oh, she was definitely waking up now.

"Tell me…" Her half-reptile form chuckled after her, her voice fading as Krish slowly gained consciousness. "Have you told our dear Loki about our horns, yet?" And there was Krishna's signature laugh... a deranged, dark, crazed…

* * *

xXxXx

* * *

… psychopathic laugh.

Krishna's eyes flew open and she took one sharp breath. Like trying to clear herself of the dream. Even then, the laughter didn't ring around in her ears, only in her head. Like it was imagined the whole time.

"Gods…" Krish sat up at the end of Loki's grandiose bed and held her face in her hands. "If I could kill her… Oh wait." She threw her head back and laughed, "I already tried! Who knew I could be so irritated with myself?" Krishna then realized that she wasn't alone.

A slouched over figure on the edge of the bed, dressed in a black silk bathrobe with a hairclip snapped to the collar.

"Loki…" Krish's voice dropped dramatically, scraping into tones of seriousness. She reached one hand out to his back hesitantly, not relaxing until her fingers touched the silk. He tensed at her touch, but then melted into it. "Loki…"

"I tried, KrishnaLan," Loki mumbled. "I really tried. Thor and I… we were the only two trying to keep your defense up. But there were so many negative attacks toward you. I tried…"

"Loki, it's okay." Krishna's thin eyebrows slanted delicately as she slid closer to him. She could fit the pieces together, there must have been some sort of judgment against her. The early rays of Asgardian light slipped across the stone floor and reached out for anything it could bring light to. Like it was hoping to grasp onto something and pull its warming rays farther in. To save itself from slipping away completely. Was that how day and night always were? In a constant struggle to keep control of their time of dominance.

"It isn't okay." Loki muttered into his hands. "There were so many councilmen. Council members that I didn't even know, digging up the most ridiculous things against you!" Loki looked up from his hands, and when his eyes met with Krishna's, her breath stopped. She knew that look, that glimmer of crazed deranged panic.

"Other council members? What council members?" Krish breathed.

"I don't know who they were," and his face went back into his hands, leaving Krish to look at his charcoal black hair, "One of them had four arms. And Odin took her opinion so seriously…"

"Her?" Krish's eyes narrowed.

"Blue skin, as well. There were a few like her. They were the most vicious against you. They acted like they'd been raised with you, KrishnaLan."

"In a way, they were." Krishna mumbled. "Those treacherous, conniving little… who were they to involve themselves in matters of Asgard?!"

"That's what I was thinki… wait, what?" Loki stuttered.

"No wonder they didn't visit me last night. They were conspiring against me. What foul play. That's practically cheating."

"Their verdict…"

"I know. I don't want to talk about it. We'll deal with it later today." Krish brushed away all her anger and turned Loki toward her, putting on a sad smile and taking his hands in hers. It was going to be a long day. "Loki, have I ever told you about my horns?"

* * *

_A/N: Okay, so I apologize for the lateness on this one. XD I know I promised I'd be faster, but le internet gave out on me. That's why I couldn't reach my private messaging, either, for those of you who sent me messages. _

_Sunrise, Noon, Sunset, and Midnight are four chapters that are very linked together, and will not be very long. Think of it as a multi-part series finale. (But, don't worry, the writing won't stop.)_

_ANYWAY. Expect the updates! Hold on for the ride, yes? I've been planning this for a while... _

_Lots of love for reviews, _

_Phan_


	21. Noon

_"Every man casts a shadow; not his body only, but his imperfectly mingled spirit. This is his **grief**. Let him turn which way he will, it falls opposite the sun; short at **noon**, long at eve. Did he never see it?" -Henry David Thoreau_

* * *

Loki had done only one thing since the early morning stress. He walked out into one of the secluded courtyards (with Thor following behind him), picked a perfect place on the ground —

And faceplanted. Right there. On the cobblestone. He laid there, facedown on the stones, all morning. And Thor just sat on the side, eating a fruit he'd been tossing in the air, wondering how he was supposed to confront his brother in a way that wouldn't get him punched in the nose. (That, or have Loki burst into violent bouts of sobbing). So he decided to focus on the happy of the situation, if there was any happy to focus on.

"KrishnaLan," Thor started, setting the core of the fruit next to him. Loki tensed up at her name. "Loki, she makes you happy, does she not? Do you love her?"

It took the raven-haired prince a long moment to reply. Like he was sifting through his scrambled thoughts, picking out the bits that were decent enough to say aloud.

"Sometimes," He muttered quietly, his voice muffled with his facedown position, "I think that 'happiness' and 'love' are no different from each other. One poisonous creature under two titles." Loki paused to breathe slowly. "I do not require the sentiment and following of love." His voice betrayed him. "But I do want to be happy. And, yes, Thor." His voice dipped into nearly silent tones. "Krish makes me very content."

Loki wasn't tearing up (Loki never cried. Ever.), but Thor was. So when Thor changed the subject, it was for his own good. Not Loki's.

"Where IS that girl, anyway?"

Loki snorted, and for the first time all morning Thor got to see his brother's face. Loki picked himself up and sat to look at Thor. "How am I supposed to know where that demon is?"

"Demon?"

"Well, this is all her fault after all." Loki looked up. "If she had not come here... Then..."

"You would not have been content." Thor said scoldingly. "Do not curse her coming here, Loki. Whether she is cast out or not, you and her were happy together. So not another word from you about that."

"She said something about the stables this morning." Loki shook his head. "Right after she asked me if I knew about her horns."

"HORNS?! She has HORNS?!"

"Well, that's what she said!" Loki exclaimed. "But she screamed 'stables' and ran away before she could explain!" Thor looked like he was going to beat the snot out of Loki for answers, so he quickly ramble-added, "THOR DON'T BLAME ME I TOLD YOU ALL I KNOW AND ALL I KNOW IS ALL KRISHNA TOLD ME SO STOP!"

Enter Krish at that wonderfully timely moment. She jumped dramatically into the courtyard, dressed in a light purple Salwar Kameez, with a rope tossed over her shoulder. She placed her hands on her hips dramatically and exclaimed, "I'm here! Did anyone miss me? Loki? No?" Then quieter, "Why are you on the ground, weirdo?"

Loki shrugged.

Then Thor roared, "KRISHNA, YOU MUST EXPLAIN YOUR HORNS TO US RIGHT NOW!"

"Oh, these things?" Krish dropped the rope on the ground, and then lifted her hair away from her neck. Jutting out from directly behind her ears, then reaching to hardly frame her face, were two dusty black ram's horns. They weren't particularly large, nor were they very small, and Loki wondered how he had never noticed them before. "I asked the Gods to let me keep them. Along with my tail. Just something to remind me of my real form." Krish shrugged. "Nothing more."

Thor looked utterly horrified, with his mouth gaping open and his eyes twitching occasionally.

Then Loki's quiet voice, "Krish, can I touch them?" Krishna dropped her hair and picked the rope up again.

"Maybe later." She said, brushing off her shirt. "I kept them well-hidden, didn't I?" The tiny golden beads reflected little pinpricks of light to shimmer on the stones. Purple. She couldn't believe she was wearing it. But it was her last day in Asgard, so why the hell not? She might as well wear a color.

Thor, with the image of horns fading from his mind, was finally able to form some sort of compliment for Krish. "KrishnaLan, the color of the material you wear makes your hair look wonderful."

"Ah. How sweet." Krish said. Loki couldn't decide if she was being sarcastic or not. They both shared the opinion that Thor was a stupid, blundering oaf, and at every chance she was given, Krish made fun of him. Loki tried not to, Thor was his brother after all, but it wasn't his fault if he agreed with Krishna's horrible insults.

"Thor's right," Loki added. "And your henna looks nice, too." Krishna didn't say anything, but her eyes softened.

"No more compliments. Seriously. It makes me feel all weird." Krish kept her eyes from locking with theirs. But Loki and Thor's green and blue eyes shared a knowing glance. They each took a synchronized breath, and then —

"Krish, I love your pale skin."

"Your eyes are stunning."

"By the Gods, you're beautiful."

"When you talk, I love listening to your voice."

"The way you move is enchanting."

"The aroma of your skin is intoxicating."

"You're absolutely hilarious, darling."

And then, Thor and Loki together, "We love you, Krish." The royal brothers paused, and then burst into laughter. But Krish, little Krishna, felt her face warm. It was as if someone had taken a completely alien substance and poured it all over her body. She was never allowed to love or be loved, compliments were completely out of the question.

She shoved the tears away from her eyes and forced herself to laugh along with them. The laughter didn't last long — nowadays it never did. In a few short moments, silence fell again, and the mood dipped back into saddened tones. It was only when Krish picked the rope back up and began scaling one of the trees that Thor broke the silence —

"What are you doing up there?" He asked. Loki turned around to face her as she ascended the trunk and disappeared to become one with the seemingly hundreds of leaves. They shook at the presence of an unwanted guest, and a few of them dropped to the ground. Krishna was mumbling something to herself. Something about loving the trees in Asgard, loving their shape, how she was going to miss them.

"I'm having fun," she suddenly said. "I am allowed to have fun, aren't I? With everything going on, I might as well while I can..."

"But Krish —"

"Loki," Krish poked her head out from among the branches upside down to stare at him. There were the horns again. "Do me a favor and shut up." Her face went dramatically happy. "Mmmkay?" And then she was back in the tree, rustling along in the branches. After a moment (a moment of silence, because Loki was now smart enough to take Krishna's advice), Krish continued talking.

"In this form, growing up on Midgard, I used to sneak into things they called 'circuses'. People with talent would gather together and perform for a large crowd. I thought it was stunning. You would have loved it, Loki. The acrobats and such..." Krishna's voice walked along dreamy paths for a moment, until it sprung back to the independent bite her voice always carried. "My favorites were always the tightrope walkers. Beautiful. Absolutely beautiful."

Krish remembered. A tough thing to do, as the Gods strived to make her forget everything menial. But she remembered. She remembered sitting on the cold metal benches in a large tent, with the smells of popcorn and sugar floating carelessly on the air. She remembered following the elephants with her eyes, the way they would run with the performers atop their backs. The way they shook their great heads and their tusks shook, too, and it seemed like anything could be taken down by their majesty. She remembered that. The elephants and the smell of the popcorn.

"Occasionally," Came that independent voice from the tree, "The tightrope walkers would fall." She poked her head out again to look straight at Loki. "My doing, of course. I liked to make them fall. The audience was none the wiser. No one would have thought of a little girl to be the cause of such a tragedy. Their faces when they heard the unnatural thunk and saw the walker's crippled body lying helplessly on the ground. The way they moaned and screamed. The terror that rode throughout that tent in waves, it was like magic." She stared off into space. "I was never known, I never wanted to be known. I just wanted anonymous power. I still do." She disappeared in the tree again and fell silent.

Thor didn't know much about Krishna. And he didn't know what the hell she just talked about.

But Loki did. And the sorrow in Krishna's voice made him despair.

"What else occupied your time on Midgard?" He asked.

"Oh, you know, the usual things kids do." Krish, knowing she was in the presence of Thor, chose her words carefully. Instead of saying 'I skinned people, cut them up, and put them in mason jars', she said, "I delivered people their Karma. New York was a great place for me to grow, filled with terrible people doing terrible things. Then I went to Russia in my adolescent years and worked there. That's where I saw the circuses."

"Like training?" Thor asked, trying to do what little he could to keep up with the conversation. "What were you training for?"

"I wasn't training, I was being trained. I had a leash around my neck. I was being trained for here, for Loki. But I won't participate." Krish chuckled. "And those idiotic Gods got the date wrong, now they're scrambling to right themselves." Krish slipped out of the tree. She had tied one end of the rope to one of the sturdy upper branches and was heading for a tree directly across the way.

"Trained for Loki?" Thor asked again.

"Yes, well. I was sent at the wrong time." Krish held Loki's chin and looked over his face. "Aside from the occasional mischief, Loki here is as innocent as a lamb. He has no Karma built up, and I have no weapon against him." Loki's mouth hinted a smile.

"Loki will be a fantastic God." Thor said.

Krish zoned in on her next tree target and headed straight for it. "Just wait until he becomes a bloodthirsty badass."

Loki cheered up dramatically. "I become a bloodthirsty badass?!"

"We'll talk about it later." Krish disappeared in her second tree. She poked her face out of the swarm of leaves. "But yes." Loki wanted to do a double fist pump to the air, but he resisted. Thor was giving him a highly displeased look.

The rope that was hanging slack in the middle of the courtyard suddenly went tight. It created a streamlined cord that sliced through the air about 10 feet up. "Is that even?" Krish asked, looking herself from the top of the tree. "I suppose it'll do."

"What are you doing?"

"Tightrope walking." Krish said. Loki couldn't see her, but he was pretty sure she shrugged. It just sounded like it in her voice. She did a voice-shrug. "I don't see the danger in it." Loki had learned not to question Krish. Because she was mostly psychopath. And if she could shove a spear through half of her inner organs, he was pretty sure she could tightrope without help.

Krish emerged out of the top of the tree, balancing on the rope. It quivered at her weight, like it didn't want her there and it was eager to throw her off. When she took a step forward, lost her balance a bit, and cried out, apparently it hit one of Thor's paternal buttons. He flipped his head around dramatically to glare at Loki.

"Brother. Help your maiden."

"I don't need any help, Thor." Krish rejected calmly.

"Yes, see? She said it herself. No help required." Loki added.

But then Thor pulled this face. This stupid face. This stupid, accusatory face. This face where his chin scrunched up and his eyes went wide. And after Loki didn't do anything, his nostrils even flared. It was terrifying.

"You know what, Krish, I think you DO need some help after all…" Loki scrambled to his feet.

"What?" Krish looked disgusted. "No, I don't need help." Loki stayed under the rope. "Loki, go away."

Loki looked back at Thor, and Thor pulled the face again. "Krish, that isn't going to happen."

Krish called Loki a name under her breath, mumbled something about being independent, and then started walking on the rope. One foot in front of the other, trying to keep the shaking to minimum. Shaking was bad. Shaking was just the more terrifying prologue to falling. Loki even started getting a little nervous when he watched her place each bare foot on the hardly-worthy-of-being-called-a-rope rope.

He found himself following under her carefully, cringing every time she jerked. She always followed her missteps with a hysterical laugh. She inched her way along, the rope seeming to get angrier as she went.

"Have you done this before?"

"No."

"Ugh. Krish…"

"What? There's a first time for everything…"

"Some first times can get you killed."

"Yeah, been through that. That's how lives 25, 86, and 12 ended."

Silence from Thor and Loki. And then Krishna's creepy chuckle (a mastered creepy chuckle) –

"Ehehehehehe…"

Cue what the three of them should have seen coming: the rope broke. Krish actually saw it from a mile away. Ropes from stables aren't meant to be walked on. Of course it was going to break. She also knew Loki would be right under her. But when it snapped, it surprised her immensely. She screamed and flailed momentarily in the air to grab the rope that was no longer there. But then she fell right into Loki's arms, and seconds later Thor had practically appeared from no where to be at her side.

"Well that was fun," Krish clambered out of Loki's hold, laughing happily. How could Krish be so happy when she knew exactly what was meant for her? "Now I can cross that off my bucket list."

The noon was draining away, and as it did the mood did as well. Dominoes everywhere were falling, every action. The Gods must have been ablaze with conversation up in their roost, chattering nervously about little rebel Krishna, wondering what they were going to do, how they were going to contain her. Wringing their hands together until they went raw with anxiety. That image made Krishna obscenely happy.

The dominoes had been falling for a while, now. Half the chain was nearly gone. There was no stopping it, so she might as well embrace it.

Krish laughed a little more, but her laughter faded.

"Come on, Loki." Her smile was unceasing. Loki wondered if she understood what was happening. Or maybe she was the one that understood the most. "Let's have one more glass of wine together before I go."

"Before you go where?"

"To my exile." She said simply. Thor's lips went tight, and Loki's eyebrows slanted sadly. But Krishna continued to smile. "Just one more glass of wine."


	22. Sunset

_"When the sun has set, no candle can replace it." -George R.R. Martin_

* * *

"They shouldn't be sending you away."

"Coming from their point of view, it's a perfectly reasonable reaction. I mean, with how much I emotionally scarred that one guard..."

"Krish, seriously."

"Oh, please. What's the fun in being serious?"

Loki gave a (perfect) exasperated sigh as he ran one finger over the rim of his wineglass. He hadn't taken a drink from it at all. Maybe it was because of the pressing circumstances around them — or maybe it was because drinking wine in the stables wasn't appetizing. But Krishna insisted that's where they drank their wine, and Loki grudgingly obliged.

To be fair, Krish hadn't sipped any of HER wine, either. In fact, she'd completely abandoned it on a haystack so she could pet (pester) the horses and kick up straw. She picked up a small piece of hay, and as Loki was distracted with his own self-sadness, Krish inched it toward his ear. Slowly, slowly, SLOWLY...

"OH GODS!" Loki exclaimed, nearly spilling his wine all across the ground as he flipped away and rubbed his ear. "KRISHNALAN!" And then he made a distinct effort to turn to her with a completely angry face. Obviously it wasn't angry ENOUGH, because Krish burst into laughter.

Loki looked down at his wine glass with a pink face and tight lips.

"See, maybe it's best that I go." Krish poked Loki teasingly in the ribs, and he menially brushed her away. "I'm dangerous, aren't I?" Her laughter sunk away, like the tide as it ebbed farther from the shoreline, leaving nothing but the damp reminder of what was there. And, unlike everyone else's laughter (and very much like the tide), Krish's laughter was guaranteed to come back eventually.

But Loki broke the calmness like a targeted earthquake and he said, very sullenly, "Krish, they don't know you."

"YOU don't know me." Krish snapped back, staring straight out into the glistening green of the shrubbery that surrounded the stable yards.

"Nonsen—"

"No, you don't." Krish said again, this time turning to look at him. The bite that her greenish eyes held outmatched any softness in her voice. "We've spent hardly any time together! I mean, really, can you even tell me what my real name is? Or what my favorite color is? Do you even know what I DO for a living? Why I do it?" Krish snorted. "You don't know anything about me, Loki. Don't even pretend you do."

The silence was filled by soft whinnies of the horses, and as one particular tawny horse stamped its feet impatiently. It stirred up soft debris of hay into the air, and Krish took a deep breath through her nose. She loved that smell, the smell of hay. She didn't even know about it until that moment, but she abruptly decided she loved it.

"Your real name is Sadguru. You are a demon of Karma, a slave to the Hindu Gods. You seek people with tremendous amounts of Karma out, people who have done terrible things in their lives, and you give them their Karma. You seek immortality, and while you tell yourself otherwise, all you want is to be accepted as one of the Gods." Loki said quietly. He stopped and looked down at his hands.

"The book you've been reading told you about all of that." Krish tried not to say it bitterly, but she failed.

Loki hesitated for a long moment. Then, nearly under the detection of Krishna's hearing, "Your favorite color is lavender."

Krish felt like those words froze her to her core. Her eyebrows slanted up delicately, and she wouldn't turn to Loki to let him see the look of despair painted on her face. She suddenly felt tied. Not to Asgard at all, but to Loki. And she remembered that she was his guardian. She was supposed to be keeping him warm and safe, and (like in everything else she'd done), she had failed in even that. Maybe her and Loki could be a driving force. She considered that. And that consideration rooted deep within her mind and spawned a hundred different seedlings to give her better insight to the Gods. They just needed to grow.

Their conspiracies wouldn't keep her long. This life was expanding her more than they thought.

"But, the question is…" Loki leaned back and laughed darkly to himself. Krish didn't like that dark laugh. It meant something was coming that she wasn't going to like. Either that, or she was going to like it a lot. "How much do you know about me?"

"Too much." Krish copied his dark laugh. "More than you know."

"I don't think it would surprise me."

"No, I mean I know more than you know about yourself."

Loki's eyes widened. "Do I want to know?"

"Probably not." Krish drank her wine, then. She considered getting more and letting herself get completely drunk. That way she could be all drunk as she was getting banished. Maybe scar some more people. "But I know that you like the smell of mint. But not the taste of it."

"How on Asgard could you figure that?" Came Loki's shocked response.

"At the dinner, after your duel with Thor, you picked it away from your meal." Krish said casually, "But I saw you had some in your chambers in a jar of water to keep the smell fresh."

After Loki went through a bout of 'How the actual hell did she observe all that?' he was kicked out of his stupefied train of thought as Krish started talking again.

"I wish I didn't know the big things about you, really," Krish admitted, "If I just knew your name and the fact you liked the smell of mint, things would be so much simpler. And if all you knew about me was that my favorite color is lavender…"

"Hm." Was all Loki could think to say. But, don't worry, he mentally beat himself up over it.

'_HM? That was all you could manage to say? Krish says something deep and emotional, and all you can manage is 'HM?' Seriously, Loki? Seriously? With all that verbose language you have? And HM?!' _

"Hm?" Krish repeated. "That's it?"

"I apologize for my lack of words."

"No, don't apologize. A lack of words is best, right now, I think."

'_Okay, never mind, you get away with it THIS time.' _

"You want to have a hay war?" Krish's voice had so much deviousness in it, it was practically dripping. Loki wouldn't be surprised if a dark creature was spawned out of the deviousness in Krish's voice, crawled in front of Loki, and spat on his shoes. It didn't, but –

"A what?" Loki asked. And then a cluster of straw was thrown in his face. He screamed as he tumbled back off the bale he was sitting on to collide on the ground of the stables. Krish looked scared that he was hurt for a second, but when she saw he was fine (a little mad, maybe), she began laughing hysterically and reloading her arms with the stuff.

"I WILL END YOU." Loki groaned, squirming to his feet and picking the hay out of his mouth.

"DO IT!"

Loki scooped some hay into his arms and took a defensive stance. "You should be aware, young grasshopper, that I am the master of hay wars."

"Pasha – ARHG!" Krish coughed when Loki shoved the hay he was holding into her face.

"Don't talk back to your superior!" Loki laughed. It felt good to laugh. He hadn't been able to laugh for a while. The horses were completely confused as to what was going on. Hay was for food, after all, not for being thrown at people.

It was the horse equivalent of a food fight. How undignified. They didn't know whether to laugh or scoff. So they just whinnied.

The two threw hay at each other until it fell in the barn like snow around them. Krishna laughed so hard, she collapsed down on the hay-covered cobblestone to only get more of it in her hair. The bits of it that stuck at her skin didn't bother her. She took a deep sigh through her nose. How peaceful, and it smelled so –

"You think you can get away that easy?" Loki leaned over her and cut away her thoughts, then threw them over her like confetti to the point that she forgot what she was thinking. He was clutching onto a massive amount of loose hay. "Well, I'll tell you. You can't get away that easy."

And he showered her in hay, with her screaming the entire time.

* * *

xXxXx

* * *

You never really notice things until they're about to be taken from you. Whether it's when the power goes out, and you realize how much you loved electricity. Or when you come home from camping, back to a world of commercialized goods, and you (if just for a moment) miss being surrounded by trees. When someone you love goes on a trip, and the only thing you can think about is how much you miss them, how you hope they're safe, and you wonder if they'll love you when they come back.

Krish was going on one of those trips, and she had those fears. She didn't know how she was going to be Loki's soul guardian (hell, she didn't even know what it meant). But she was going to have to figure it out from earth. Surely that was where they were putting her. Back in the world of taxicabs and smog.

As the guards escorted Krish across the rainbow bridge on foot, she had plenty of time to think about this. (And she was particularly happy to notice one of her escorters was the guard that she had spent a majority of her time scarring). She also had plenty of time to notice the colors of the rainbow bridge. They were beautiful. She would miss them. They had a way of dancing when you moved around them, the little shards of color. They shifted with you like a hundred different animals running in the glass.

Then there was the sky above. Now, as they crossed under the separating line from space to the day-sky, Krish could see the deep-set hues of red and orange. She never bothered to study the solar system around Asgard. Now as she was walking away from it, she wished she had. She also wished she read more. She wished she touched more things. She wished she irritated Loki more. She wished she knew about Thor. She wished she tasted more of their food, climbed more of their trees, and rode more of their horses.

She wished she wasn't leaving.

However, as much as she wanted to stay in Asgard, she was excited to get back on Midgard and get back to work. She hadn't skinned anyone for a while. She was starting to have withdrawals. Skinning withdrawals.

Krish looked over at the guard she'd been targeting. He glanced down at her briefly with his rich golden eyes, but then (in a panic) looked straight forward again. He was, though no one else knew it, paying off his Karma. He'd stolen something from the palace before Krish had even arrived. And all Krish had done to him was justified. It was what he earned.

He was really the thing that kept Krishna sane the whole time. She needed to give SOMEONE their Karma. A little piece within herself would miss him. Just a little bit.

When they arrived at the BiFrost, Krish was taken inside the large golden dome and told to stand in front of the place she would be teleported from. One more mumble of "don't move" from the guards, and they left her to stand alone as they joined the group that had traveled to see the banishment.

Thor was there, looking angry at this. He obviously didn't think Odin was serious about the whole thing. Krish was sure he wouldn't think it was serious until she had been transported away. She gave him a smile and a little wave.

He smiled and waved back.

Loki wasn't allowed to be close to her at all. He stayed by Thor with sullen green eyes, staring at the golden steps.

"PST!"

His head snapped up to look at Krish.

"Cheer the hell up, okay?" Krish said jovially, smiling more than she should have been. "You know me. I'll never be too far away." Loki let himself smile a little, and then he looked back down at the ground.

Krish's focus went to the person that was closest to her – Heimdall. He looked very official, so official it almost made Krish sick.

"You should know more than anyone else." Krish said darkly, just loud enough so it stirred the air between them. Heimdall gave her the satisfaction of a small glance. "You know who I am." She spat bitterly. "I do what I do because I HAVE TO." Her eyes stung. "I don't have a CHOICE. I've suffered lifetimes of punishment because of it. And when you send me through this machine back to Midgard, when you look out at the sky, and when you see me… you'll remember that you treated me just like everyone else – like an animal. And I hope it haunts you to your core." Then, much quieter. "Because you know that I can help Laufeyson. And now, because I'm being sent away, he's going to turn into something evil."

"Speak no more." Heimdall commanded.

"And he will be beautiful." Krish spat darkly.

"KrishnaLan," Odin's voice reminded Krish of one she knew all too well, and her eyes instinctively hit the ground in respect. He spoke softly, not like something Krish expected for her banishment. She wanted fireworks and showgirls and drama.

Neon signs and jazz like that.

Maybe even a club singer, you know.

"You know your offenses to my kingdom are great enough for this banishment to be justified. Let us not drag out the processions to something for show." Odin continued.

"Damn it," Krish muttered.

"Father – " Loki was set on giving one last try to stop Krish's banishment. But before Odin could yell at him for being defiant, Krish spoke up.

"Loki," she said softly, the mellowness all too convincing. Loki looked up at her with tear-stained eyes, trying desperately not to let them fall. Krish also seemed forlorn, and Loki didn't like that… he didn't… he… "Loki, forget about me, okay? Just pretend we never met. You'll be beautiful, I'm sure. The things you'll do. But forget about me."

"How am I supposed to?" Loki asked painfully. No one from court even had the heart to stop the two from speaking to each other. Especially not when they were both tearing up.

"Just forget. Please. That's all I want you to do. And," Krish laughed, "And be generally awesome."

"You are hereby banished from the kingdom of Asgard," Odin boomed, "My kingdom will welcome you and your demon ways no more." Krish's scaly tale twitched.

As the BiFrost's huge mechanical mysteries started to turn and crackle with electricity, Krish adjusted the bag on her back. It was just a little heavier now.

"Krish!" Loki cried out, realizing then that her hairclip was still attached to his collar. "Your clip!"

"Keep it!" Krish called over the whirring behind her. "It's always been yours, anyway." She held her hands up in a heart to Loki as she could feel the energy increasing in power around her. The henna on her hands looked more intense in the golden light. "Goodbye, Loki!"

He hesitated, clipped the hair accessory back on his collar, and held his hands up to mimic hers in a heart. "Goodbye, stranger that shanked me for no reason!"

"Hey!" Krish laughed sadly. That was the only time Loki saw a tear drizzle down her face and ruin its fragile paleness altogether. It was like someone had pushed her porcelain skin and it had cracked under the pressure. She was chipped at that moment, and Loki could see through that crack to the depths of her soul. He loved what he saw.

"Goodbye, Krish!" Loki said again. "I'll miss you!"

"I'm scared!" Krish suddenly whispered as the BiFrost intensified. She remembered earth, she remembered all of it. She new the Gods would be after her, and it terrified her. That crack had let the terror in. "I'm scared…"

And in a blaze of light, Krish's pale figure, standing slouched on the portal frame, was whipped away from them, and her final screams echoed in the golden dome.

One of Thor's hands fell like lead on Loki's shoulder. But Loki was too numb to feel it.

KrishnaLan was gone.

* * *

_A/N: How I hope I haven't scared any of you away! I was terrified when only one person reviewed! I hope I haven't offended anyone by any means! If there's something you find off with the story, you could always personal message me, and I'll be sure to fix it! I hope all is well with everyone. _

_In other news, there will be only one chapter left for this section of the story. But, by no means does that mean the updates will stop. Trust me. There will be a few intermission chapters that I LOVED writing, and I can't wait for you to read. And then, well, we'll see! _

_Lots of love to everyone and God bless, _

_Phan_


	23. Midnight

_"What cruel tricks the innocent mind plays,_

_When the people have gone to bed._

_What cruel tricks the** midnight** sways,_

_When the monsters have risen instead."_

* * *

The palace seemed to go on like nothing happened. Much to Loki's distaste, no one grieved either. For him, Krish was there for decades. They spent so much time bonding, becoming closer. But for everyone else she was a stranger, a person who resided in Asgard for a few days.

Fandral, while Loki passed him in the hall, even had the nerve to ask why Loki looked so forlorn. That was the first time Loki ever got the insane urge to hit something with a chair. Sadly, as Fandral said his goodbyes and walked merrily down the hall, there were no chairs to be used.

Otherwise Loki would have totally done it.

Everyone seemed to be acting this way. All except for Thor. Thor grieved. And if in nothing else, Loki somehow felt close to his brother through that.

They were sitting together in one of the secluded courtyards. Darkness had long wrapped its tendrils around Asgard in embrace, and it wouldn't release until morning came again. Torches had been lit, and they turned the shadows of the two royal brothers into stretched rivers of darkness across the stone. This was the same courtyard Loki had been in previous to his duel with Thor. And while Loki wasn't one for sentiment (or anything close to sentiment), being in the courtyard depressed him greatly.

"Brother," Thor's sullen voice broke the silence, but Loki's eyes stayed locked on one particular tile. Focusing on one thing kept his mind at ease. "I'm sure this isn't the end of things. Perhaps one day, father will let us visit Midgard - "

"And then what, Thor?" Loki asked, briefly glancing up at the dark sky. "We search for her across the cast stretches of Midgard? We inspect every corner and crevice that she might be hiding in?"

"It could be done."

"But I won't do it," Loki said resolutely. Thor went silent. "I won't put myself through that. I'll allow myself to mourn for tonight and then I'll do my best to move on. No more grieving, no more talking of her. Whatever happens to her will be of no concern to me. Whether is struck ill, or captured, or killed…"

"Certainly you don't actually think that way, brother." Thor's tone dipped into almost being repulsed. That Loki would forget about Krishna so effortlessly.

"Of course I don't think that way Thor!" Loki exclaimed, rearing back to face him. His shadow jerked as well, unsettling the cobblestone. "My entire frame is heavy with concern. I can't even think straight. Just walking down the hallways, I feel as if she's going to run into me or jump on my back! And when it doesn't come, I feel as if something is wrong." Loki went quiet again and he eased forward to rest his arms on his knees. "But I have to try, don't you understand? I'll just pretend I don't care until I actually don't."

Thor was haunted by this thought. He felt chills clamber up his spine like parasitic ooze, waiting to latch onto his brain and scar that feeling there forever. So before this could happen, he gave Loki an abrupt goodbye.

"I feel as if I shall go back into the palace." He said slowly. Loki did nothing as Thor stood to leave. But Thor hesitated, and added almost inaudibly, "I really liked Krish, Loki. I miss her, too." When Loki finally glanced over his shoulder, Thor had made his leave, and Loki was left to his own thoughts once again.

He didn't feel pained. There wasn't a permanent lump in his throat, where he was choking back tears that would be shed for Krish. There were no tears to be shed. He didn't feel extremely sad. He didn't think about her.

Really, he didn't think about anything at all.

Except that one tile. He thought about that tile. It was a slightly different shade than the others. Almost a green. A light green. It was nice. Loki liked that tile. Perhaps later, he would have one of the servants come back into the courtyard and pry it up for him. Then he'd hang it in his chambers for no reason at all. That way, whenever someone walked in, they would ask him about it. And Loki could tell them, "I hung it there for no reason at all. No reason at all." Then, over time, the tile would become more than just something he hung there. It would become something special to him. Instead of being attached to the memory of Krish, he could shift that attachment onto the tile.

Loki shook his head vigorously and let that extremely weird chain of thought drain out his ear. Even now, with her gone, Krish had fulfilled her threat of getting in his head. Forgetting about her, however, was a little more difficult that tipping his head and throwing her out his ear. She hung on.

The black plastic hairclip was still clamped firmly to his collar. He reached up momentarily to take it off, but his fingers wouldn't go any farther. Eventually, they went slack and fell into his lap again.

"You know, if you take that thing off, I'll kick you. You know that, right?"

Loki's spine went rigid in three seconds flat. His ears seemed to turn around before he did, to face the voice that was, literally, right behind him. Krishna's porcelain skin was there, bending around her mouth to make way for a smile. She winked and then swung around to sit by him on the bench.

Loki must have been too numb to take everything seriously. But, slowly, ever so slowly, the pins and needles set in and Loki's sensation returned to him.

"KRISHNA!" He cried out, almost scolding her. And when Krish shrunk down, and then peered around to look for guards, Loki cleared his throat and tried to look casual. "Krish, what in the actual hell are you doing here?! Are you alright?" Loki held Krish's shoulders in his hands to make sure she was there. He even shook her around a bit, which she didn't appreciate, and she muttered something about biting him if he shook her again. Loki moved his hands up to her face, where he put his fingers around her ears and rested his thumbs on her cheeks.

"Loki, I'm fine!" Krish laughed lightly, holding onto one of his wrists. "But while this is cute and everything, you're really cold. So get your hands off my face."

"I apologize."

Loki took his hands off her face.

"No, don't apologize. I said that so I could hug you." Krish hesitated when Loki didn't do anything. "Do you want a hug?"

"I think so, yes." Loki laughed.

Krish threw her arms around Loki's neck and gave him the tightest hug he'd been given in a while. It even rivaled Thor's hugs, and Thor's hugs were ridiculously tight.

"I missed you, can you believe that?" Krish said teasingly through clenched teeth. "I didn't think I would, but I did." Loki said something back to her, but she didn't hear it, so she just carried on with her business. While still hugging Loki, she unclipped her hair accessory from his collar and slipped it into one of the pockets on his outfit. "Keep that with you, okay? And I mean it. It's more important to me than it is to you."

"Then why don't you take it?" Loki paused, and then added, "And why are you still hugging me?"

"Because I want to, first of all. And second, because I can't take it with me." Krish eased away from him.

She looked devastated. Completely devastated. Like her entire world was crashing down around her. Or, more like it was threatening to crash. And she needed to be the support to keep it up. But she looked too tired to be the support of a crashing world; especially her own. She looked absolutely exhausted.

"How did you get back?" Loki said eagerly. "Heimdall? Did he let you pass through the BiFrost again?"

"No." Krish smirked and poked Loki's ribs. "There are many ways in and out of Asgard. You'd do best to remember that for the future."

"But you aren't going to tell me any of them, are you?"

"Nope."

"Of course not." Loki let himself smile. It was nice to smile, now that he remembered how. "So what's the plan then, Krish? I'm sure I could hide you somewhere. Ooh, better yet. There's a forest on the edge of the boundaries. You'd love it there. Lots of trees to climb, plenty of dark tangled branches. I could make excuses all the time to come visit you. We've…"

"That isn't why I've come." Krish said slowly. Loki could feel his heart at that moment. He felt every excited heartbeat through every part of his body, and then he felt it stop. "I needed the Asgardians to think I was just banished. It would be too messy otherwise."

"What do you speak of?" Loki said mechanically.

"I can't be in this body anymore, Loki. It's too easy for the Gods to find, and far too difficult for me to…" Krish selected her words about guarding Loki's soul wisely, "do my job."

"Karma deliverance?"

"Well, my part-time job, I suppose."

"What are you implying, KrishnaLan?" Loki's heart froze over at that instant. He was genuinely afraid. Maybe it was the tone in Krish's voice. Or maybe it was because he knew exactly what she meant, but he wouldn't let himself accept it. Surely it couldn't be that.

"I tried to do it myself, but Death won't let me pass. He doesn't want me conferencing with the Gods, and I can see his point." She wasn't looking at Loki anymore, because she couldn't stand the pain in his face. So she was looking at a particular greenish tile in the middle of the courtyard. It was a nice tile. "But you know me, I find loopholes. Well Loki," Krish chuckled and finally looked at him again, "you're my loophole."

"I do not understand…" and then he saw what she was holding. He must have been too distracted to notice it before, too excited to see what was glimmering right there in front of his eyes. It was the dagger that she had shanked him with. That stupid, painful little dagger. It had been an inside joke between them. Whenever Loki thought about it, he almost wanted to laugh. Now he was absolutely terrified.

"I can't kill myself." Krish said numbly. "But someone else can."

"No." Loki stood up and shook his head vigorously. His frozen heart was cracking now, just little cracks; he could hear it if he listened closely. Instead of a heartbeat, it was the sound of ice cracking. "Absolutely not."

"Please, Loki!" Krish begged, standing in front of him and extending the dagger. "You don't understand how many good things will come out of this! It's in your best interest, I promise you! I'll be able to go where you go, to see what you see. Loki. Please!"

"What you're asking of me…"

"It won't be very long!" Tears were slipping down KrishnaLan's face. The porcelain was stained now. Loki had never seen KrishnaLan cry, and he didn't like what he saw. She was a different person in that moment, she wasn't a Goddess like Loki had always imagined her to be. She was completely second-class to her superiors. She was less than that; she was a serf to them. She wasn't trying to support a dying world, she was just trying to survive.

An odd way of surviving, that was, asking to be killed.

"I won't cry out, Loki, I promise I'll be quiet, please…"

"What you ask of me…"

"Is what needs to be done!" Krish scoffed and looked behind her. "Gods, Loki, why are you always so stubborn?"

"I'm not…"

"Yes, you are." Krish put one hand on her hip and pointed the dagger at him. "I could give you ten examples, one including that chocolate that you wouldn't give to me, but I don't have time."

"It was MY chocolate, Krish!"

"Sharing is caring."

"Since when did you know anything about CARING?!"

"THAT DOESN'T MATTER RIGHT NOW!" Krish smeared the tears off her face and thrust the handle of the dagger into Loki's hand.

"I won't do it!"

"Then I'll get Thor to do it!" Krish said. Her eyes darkened, the bite in her tone felt like razorblades. "Don't you see, Loki? I'm doing you a favor right now, letting you kill me! You don't think it's a favor – I don't know anyone who would – but I'm giving you an honor."

"What honor is that, Krish?!" Loki took a step back, holding the dagger away from him. "Please, do tell me!"

"You and I are in this together Loki! You're life is going to be just as _screwed up_ as mine! Don't you DARE act the hero here!" Krish stepped closer to Loki. She reached out slowly with one fragile hand and held his hand in it, clamping his fingers shut over the handle. She stopped fanning the flame in her voice, but it was still warm as she said, "Through this act, you're declaring to the Gods that you've sided with me." Loki tried to interrupt. "I know, it seems strange, but my ways of life are different than yours."

"Krish…"

"I'm finally starting to piece this whole thing together, Loki!" Krish said, smiling slightly through almost excited tears. "This will mean everything. You separating us now will mean keeping us together later, you just have to trust me."

"But…"

"I know it's weird, but so am I. So shut up."

Loki couldn't argue with that.

"Look," Krish continued. Loki's heart gave a frozen jolt as Krish took his hand and guided it up to her neck, "I'll really be the one doing it. I'll thrust it through, you just have to hold on, okay? I promise, I'll be alright. I've done this like six thousand times before, no joke. Not quite like this, but close enough."

"What makes this different?" Loki asked somberly. Those words caught KrishnaLan's attention. She looked up at him sadly.

"Well," She laughed a little, using her free hand to straighten Loki's Asgardian jacket. "I've never been in love before, really."

"Krish, I…"

"There's no time." Krishna's steely gray-green eyes locked with Loki's. Her free hand joined the one keeping the dagger (and Loki's hand) to her neck. "Remember, Loki," Krish turned her head to the other side gently, a smile playing around her mouth. "I'll never be too far away. Now here's your revenge. I shanked you, and that gave you enough Karma build up to kill me without consequence."

"You shanked me… for this reason?" Loki felt betrayed. "You knew?"

Krish wouldn't answer. "I'll never be too far away." She repeated. Loki wanted to cry. She took a deep breath and looked at the ground. Loki could feel the muscles in her hands tensing up. "Okay, how hard can this be?" She took a few deep breaths to prepare, and right as she was tensing up for a final time, a sheer look of panic flashed over her face. Before Loki could cry out, or make her stop, the dagger ripped through her throat. It severed her trachea, all of the tendons and muscles in between, hit each of her arteries. Loki could feel the vibrations of the blade cutting through, he could hear it.

And his heart completely shattered as she gave one more gargled cry of fear.

He didn't say anything as he took her lifeless body and eased it toward the ground. Her blood was lavender.

Lavender is Krishna's favorite color.

Loki watched her body disintegrate before his eyes. It melted into a puddle – but no. It wasn't a puddle at all. It was a mess of tiny black feathers. The wind picked them up as the last of Krish's pale skin turned to downy, it took them away like sand. And underneath them all, sitting in front of Loki's lap next to the dagger, was a large lavender feather.

Loki picked it up and tucked it in his pocket.

Lavender was Krish's favorite color.

* * *

_End Of Part One _

_Black Feathers_


	24. Loki Krish AN

_***Neon signs flickering the words "Important Author's Note"***_

_Loki:** *Points up at the sign* **Has it broken itself?_

_Krish: ***Stares at it blankly*** Geez… ***Walks over to the wall the sign is situated on**Gives it a solid kick* **_

_Loki: Oh, alright. It's stopped. ***Adjusts his helmet, mumbles something about how wearing it is pointless***_

_Krish: ***Looks out at you, the reader*** Hi, reader! ***Waves enthusiastically******Looks at Loki***_

_Loki: Meh._

_Krish: Close enough. **Back at you** If you've made it this far, we all want to thank you. Phan even got you some fudge. ***Looks at Loki******Mumbles "where'd you put the fudge?"***_

_Loki:** *Whispers* **Wait, that was for our readers? …My apologies._

_Krish: You… you ATE it?! Loki, there was, like 20 pounds of that stuff!_

_Loki: ***shrugs***_

_Krish:… if you have to have your stomach pumped, I'm not going with you to hold your hand._

_Loki: Fair enough. Now back to the author's announcement… ***gestures at the reader*** … thing._

_Krish: Right. ***Clears her throat and turns back to you*** Aside from the fact that we have no fudge to give you… ***kicks Loki***_

_Loki: ARGH!_

_Krish: Phan has a really important announcement! And she's obviously so lazy that she enlisted US to announce it…_

_Loki: I vote we throw toilet paper around her room while she's sleeping._

_Krish: ***fist-bumps Loki*** Even though Black Feathers is over (we hope you enjoyed it as much as we did), by no means is that the end of the story._

_Loki: I wouldn't let PhantomHeiress end it like that anyway._

_Krish: The second installment of the story is being organized as you read this._

_Loki: It could be debuted any day now._

_Krish: Y'know, if Phan stops sleeping so much._

_Loki: Another fair point._

_Krish: But, listen, here's the thing. Since it's being published as a whole different story, and the updates won't be added onto "Black Feathers", if you aren't subscribed to Phan, you won't get notified when she publishes it._

_Loki: Which would be tremendously depressing._

_Krish: Yeah. Yeah it would._

_Loki: So we highly recommend checking that "Author Update" box…_

_Krish: Right down there… ***points at the bottom of the screen***_

_Loki: That way you can stay in the loop. Hell, we'll even say that by subscribing, you're joining the… ***turns to Krish*** What do they call us?_

_Krish: Krishki._

_Loki: Wait, why is YOUR name first? Why isn't it Lokrish? Or even Lokri?_

_Krish: Because it doesn't want to be. ***Steals Loki's helmet and puts it on*** Besides, the people have spoken._

_Loki: No! They haven't!_

_Krish: ***Glares at him*** We'll settle this later._

_Loki: So, anyway, if you subscribe to get the "Lavender Feathers" update, consider yourself a part of my glorious Lokrish army._

_Krish: … YOUR army?_

_Loki: Well, I AM the royal one, after all._

_Krish: ***Stares at him a moment longer. Takes the helmet off her head, tucks it under her arm, and walks out of frame***_

_Loki: KrishnaLan, where are you going?_

_Krish: ***Muffled*** To melt your horns down and make earrings out of them._

_Loki: KRISH, NO! BAD! ***Rushes out of frame after her***_

_***A long, empty pause***_

_***Something red sneaks across the frame***_

_Deadpool: ***peeks over at you*** Oh, hai there. ***Waves like a creep*** I'm Deadpool. Phan is writing about me soon, too. So if you want that notification, subscribing is legit. Also, you can go to Phan's profile and vote for the whole "Lokrish, Krishki, Lokri" thing on her most recent poll. That way the two of them don't kill each other in this dispute. Also, you look good today. Can I have your num - ?_

_Phan's voice: Deadpool! GET OUT!_

_Deadpool: Okay, bai! ***Leaves the frame******comes back*** Also, I love you._

_Phan: DEADPOOL!_

_Deadpool: Kay, bai! ***Scuttles away***_

* * *

_~Black Feathers~_

_Thank you for your support_

_And, like Deadpool, I too love you. ^_^_

_Lotsa Love until "Lavender Feathers." _

_-Phan_


End file.
